In a statement here on Friday, Sadikin underlined that his responsibility is to ensure easy healthcare access that is high in quality and reasonably priced.
"We want residents on islands to have access to health services like those in Jakarta," he stated during the groundbreaking ceremony for the development of the Buru Regional Public Hospital in Namlea, Buru, Maluku, on Thursday.
Construction of the hospital is part of ongoing efforts to accelerate the realization of equitable distribution of health services by establishing and improving the quality of hospitals in underdeveloped, frontier, and remote areas.
Buru Regional Public Hospital is one of the 66 regional hospitals whose development is targeted for completion in two years.
The minister emphasized that the construction of the hospitals is part of a broader strategy to lower death rates from Indonesia's most deadly diseases.
"The five most deadly diseases are stroke, heart disease, cancer, kidney disease, and maternal and child health problems," he remarked.
To this end, he emphasized, the hospitals must be equipped with facilities such as CT scans, cath labs, mammography, and dialysis equipment.
He pointed out that high-quality healthcare requires more than general practitioners and must include support from specialist doctors. Therefore, Minister Sadikin requested that regional governments support children in their respective regions to become specialist doctors.
The minister also emphasized the importance of thorough hospital planning and the avoidance of outdated, inefficient, and unfriendly practices.
The Ministry of Health has readied funds and technical support to ensure the hospital development progresses swiftly and accurately. The early-stage development is expected to take 8 to 12 months.
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Translator: Lintang Budiyanti, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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