"We have just launched this internship program with living expenses assistance that provides incentives for health workers in remote parts of Indonesia to provide better health service," Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin stated during an online press conference attended from Jakarta, Thursday.
Apart from the living expenses assistance in DTPK, the ministry also applied a similar policy in five other regional categories, specifically Maluku, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), and Papua outside the DTPK to receive living expenses assistance of Rp3,999,574 per month.
Furthermore, internship doctors in Kalimantan and Sulawesi outside the DTPK areas will receive assistance amounting to Rp3,727,034 per month, followed by internship doctors in Sumatra and West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) outside provincial capitals and those in DTPK to receive Rp3,498,800 per month.
Moreover, internship doctors in provincial capitals in Sumatra and NTB will receive Rp3,241,200 per month, equal to intern doctors in Java and Bali.
"Assistance amounting to Rp3,241,200 per month is the lower limit for living expenses provided by the ministry. However, the upper limit has been increased to Rp6,499,575 per month," Sadikin remarked.
He noted that the lower limit was given to several provincial capitals in several regions and Bali, while the upper limit will be specifically offered to intern doctors in the border and island areas.
He noted that the Ministry of Health is conducting transformation of the national health system to strengthen the revitalization of promotive and preventive primary health services in all community health services (puskesmas) and integrated health posts (posyandu) networks.
"We need to redistribute our health workers, especially to remote areas in Indonesia to realize equal distribution of health services to the community," he remarked.
Sadikin noted that currently, the quality of access to health for several Indonesian people, especially outside Java and Bali, is far below those who live in Java and Bali.
Based on this condition, the ministry encourages the equal distribution of health workers, especially to remote areas, to improve the quality of health services.
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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Resinta S
Editor: Sri Haryati
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