It is one of our priorities to keep our community healthy, not to treat sick people
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The government's priority in the health sector has shifted from handling the COVID-19 pandemic to improving the quality of public health services, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin informed at the Presidential Office here on Thursday.

In view of this, the Health Ministry will provide sufficient budget allocations for the revitalization of health facilities, such as community health centers and integrated health posts, as well as for promotive and preventive health programs.

"The number one focus is the primary service. It is one of our priorities to keep our community healthy, not to treat sick people,” he remarked, according to a statement issued by the press bureau of the Presidential Secretariat.

The minister said that the second priority is restructuring hospitals across Indonesia to improve health services for the community, especially for diseases that cause high mortality and require expansive treatments, for instance, heart disease, stroke, and cancer.

"Later, we will work together with the regional government, the police, and the military; thus, we will also synergize the allocation of the budget with them," he informed.

Yet another priority of the Health Ministry is building the health industry in collaboration with the Industry Ministry.

The government will also focus on developing adequate health human resources. To achieve this end, the Health Ministry will cooperate with the Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Ministry as well as the Religious Affairs Ministry to ensure a sufficient number of specialist doctors.

"It (the human resource improvement program) will receive a budget allocation, either directly from (the budget of) the ministry or by providing scholarships for health workers," Sadikin informed.

The fifth focus of the ministry is improving the health financing system since of late, people have started to get more medical check-ups, he said.

"It is what we are currently managing to ensure that the (existing) health financing system can still sustainably serve the public," he added.

The minister said that the government is also focusing on developing future health programs based on biotechnology, information technology, and artificial intelligence.

"All of our new health technologies are starting to get incorporated (into the national health programs)," he said.

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Translator: Indra Pribadi, Uyu Liman
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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