Medical graduates needed in remote areas

Medical graduates needed in remote areas

JAKARTA: Medical school graduates are still required to work
in remote areas across the archipelago as the distribution of
medical practitioners remains uneven, the Ministry of Health said
on Friday.

Director General of Public Health Azrul Azwar said on Friday
that the two-year placement program was needed to provide medical
services to the public.

Last week, hundreds of medical school graduates currently
participating in the program demanded the health ministry
eliminate this requirement and increase their honorarium.

Azrul said on Friday that the health ministry had agreed to
increase the doctors honorarium and would also grant a practice
permit to enable medical practitioners to provide medical
services in other places aside from the Public Health Centers
(Puskesmas). -- Antara