"Regional governments, both in the province and districts, in West Papua must protect the health of Indigenous Papuans in all health facilities," he stressed here on Friday.
He noted that with the implementation of the Special Autonomy Law in Papua, regional governments should prepare proper health services for Indigenous Papuans.
Moreover, the Special Autonomy Law has mandated that regional governments at the provincial, district, and city levels must allocate a minimum of 20 percent of the regional budget for the health sector.
According to him, all native Papuans must have access to free health services, especially those who cannot afford them. This can be done either through the National Health Insurance (JKN) program or affirmative action, he added.
"For example, if there are Indigenous Papuans who are not covered by BPJS Kesehatan (JKN program), the government must be able to protect them by using the special autonomy fund," he expounded.
Wamafma said that to realize the mandate of the Special Autonomy Law in the health sector, synergy between all stakeholders is needed.
The Regional Legislative Councils (DPRD) at the provincial and district levels must check whether the budget for health services has reached a minimum of 20 percent, as mandated by the law. If not, the DPRD must strive to increase it.
He informed that he is currently seeking to gather aspirations from people regarding the health problems in regions.
The DPD will push regional governments to allocate their health budget in keeping with the mandate of the law and discuss the issue with the relevant ministries.
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Translator: Ali Nur, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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