Indonesians' life expectancy among lowest in Southeast Asia

Indonesians' life expectancy among lowest in Southeast Asia

Indonesians' life expectancy is among the lowest in Southeast Asia because most cannot afford medical services, a health ministry official said Thursday.

"The life expectancy rate of Indonesians is 65 years, Bruneians 76, Singaporeans 77, Malaysians 72, Thais 72, Filipinos 69 and Vietnamese 68," said the director-general for public health development, Azrul Azwar.

Azrul, quoted by the state Antara news agency, said the absence of a compulsory health insurance scheme nationwide is to blame.

"Most Indonesian citizens pay for their medical care in cash. Thus, only rich citizens or those taking part in health insurance programs can afford medical services," he said.

The government has completed a bill on a national health guarantee scheme, he said.

When it becomes law each citizen will have to pay up to five or six percent of their income as a premium, he was quoted as saying after a hearing of a parliamentary welfare commission.

A United Nations report released last July said Southeast Asia's largest country Indonesia is also among the least successful in improving the welfare of its people.

Indonesia ranked seventh out of the ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations -- above Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos -- in the Human Development Index compiled for the United Nations Development Program.

The index measures life expectancy, adult literacy, school and college enrollment and per capita gross domestic product. -- AFP