Indonesia exports nurses

JAKARTA: Secretary General of the Ministry of Health Hidayat Hardjoprawito officially bade farewell on Tuesday to 48 Indonesian nurses who were leaving for Saudi Arabia.

The nurses, graduates of the Academy of Nurses, will work in Saudi government hospitals in Mecca and Medina where they will receive a monthly salary of Rp 1.3 million (US$613.2).

Under the contract, the nurses have a one-year renewable contract which entitles them to a six-week paid vacation and a return ticket home.

Indonesia has sent some 600 nurses abroad, 400 of which have gone to Saudi Arabia. (07)