Govt to send doctors to remote areas

SUBANG, West Java: The government plans to reactivate an old program that requires fresh graduates to work in remote areas for a certain period before obtaining a license to practice medicine.

Speaking at a ceremony to mark National Health Day, Minister of Health Siti Fadilah Supari said on Thursday that the move, expected to start next year, was needed amid a severe shortage of doctors in health clinics in remote areas.

But Siti also said that the government would provide an incentive package for doctors willing to work in remote areas including a relatively handsome monthly salary of around Rp 5 million (about US$500).

She added that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was expected to issue a presidential decree as the legal basis for the reactivation of the program. -- Antara