"One of the major issues in cancer treatment in Indonesia is the lack of oncology specialists," Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said in a statement on Sunday.
The shortage of oncologists has also delayed the distribution of cancer-specific medical equipment to regional hospitals because those hospitals lack specialists who can operate the equipment, he added.
The doctors will be sent abroad through various fellowship programs in China, India, Japan, and South Korea that are cooperating with Indonesia in training doctors.
Indonesian doctors will pursue higher studies in interventional cardiology and other specialized fields under the fellowships for 6 to 24 months, Sadikin noted.
"We are keen to expedite the fellowship program in order to ensure more internists are capable of performing chemotherapy for patients," he said.
He also voiced hope the initiative could add to the number of Indonesian medical experts to provide earlier cancer detection and care for residents.
He underlined that support from stakeholders, including Indonesia's medical collegium, was essential to implementing the program.
"This policy may not be liked by all groups, but we need to remember that 234,000 people die of cancer every year," Sadikin said.
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Translator: Mecca Yumna, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Anton Santoso
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