Rp 1t for free medication

MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi: The government has allocated Rp 1 trillion (US$111 million) to provide free medical treatment for the poor, Minister of Health Achmad Suyudi said here on Thursday.

"The fund is from the state budget and the amount could still increase when the budget is revised in August 2004," he said.

Speaking at a national congress of the Indonesian Anesthesiologists Association (IDSAI) in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar, Suyudi said the fund came from money earlier set aside for fuel subsidies. --Antara