“Currently, there are 51,949 medical specialists available, with a target ratio of 0.28:1,000, (thus) Indonesia has a shortage of 30 thousand medical specialists," the ministry's director general of health workers, Arianti Anaya, said during a public hearing on the Health Bill in Jakarta on Wednesday.
The ideal ratio is based on the World Health Organization's (WHO’s) recommendation of 1 doctor per 1,000 population, which translates into a requirement of around 272 thousand doctors in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, the number of specialist doctors in Indonesia is 51,949, with most of them concentrated on Java Island, Anaya said.
The number of general practitioners has now reached 180 thousand, with an average production rate of around 12 thousand doctors per year, she added.
"In the next two to three years, it is hoped that the number of doctors can reach 1:1,000 population," she said.
She noted that Indonesia has 21 specialist study programs offered by 92 medical faculties, which can produce 2,700 specialist graduates per year.
"However, if you calculate the number of medical graduates per year and the number of specialist doctors, it will take more than 10 years to overcome the shortage of specialist doctors in Indonesia," she pointed out.
Of the 51,949 medical specialists, 59 percent are based in Java Island. This has resulted in the uneven distribution of specialist doctors, especially in remote areas, she said.
Although it is centralized in Java, East Java province still lacks 488 specialist doctors, Central Java 295 specialist doctors, and West Java 375 specialist doctors, she informed.
"Of all the provinces in Indonesia, the only area that does not experience a shortage of specialist doctors is Jakarta province," she said.
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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Resinta S
Editor: Tia Mutiasari
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