Ministry of Health to get $1.3b

Ministry of Health to get $1.3b

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Health Sujudi sought ideas from the
House of Representatives yesterday on his ministry's allocation
of Rp 3.1 trillion (US$1.3 billion) for the 1997/1998 fiscal
year.

Sujudi said the budget would be divided into routine spending
of Rp 1 trillion and development spending of Rp 2 trillion.

The new budget is expected to take effect On April 1.

Most of the budget for routine activities is for salaries,
constituting Rp 759 billion. Equipment expenditure will total Rp
209 billion.

The ministry's Secretary-General, Hidayat Hardjoprawito, said
in next fiscal year the ministry expected foreign aid totaling Rp
497 billion ($207 million) from, among others, the Asian
Development Bank and leading United Nations organizations
including UNICEF and UNDP as well as bilateral donations from
France and Austria.

Hidayat said the soft loan, with a term of five to seven
years, carried an interest rate of 10 percent and installment
payments lasting 10 years. This marked a significant increase on
this year's total of Rp 170 billion.

The loan would be allocated to an iodine intake program,
sanitation methods, a maternal medical care program, increased
blood supply for Sulawesi, additional funding for a Bengkulu
hospital and the prevention of communicable diseases such as
tuberculosis and dengue fever, Hidayat said. (01)