Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia's Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has outlined why the country must reform its medical education system to tackle a critical shortage of specialist doctors.

"Our first problem is numbers — we need 70,000 specialist doctors, but we're only producing 2,700 per year. At that pace, it will take 26 years," Sadikin said at the launch of the Accelerated Program for the Fulfillment and Distribution of General Practitioners and Specialists in Jakarta on Tuesday.

He emphasized that the problem is not just distribution, but a fundamental lack of supply.

"It's not just a matter of where the doctors go — we simply don't have enough of them," he explained.

Sadikin also noted that Indonesia cannot depend solely on traditional methods, like offering scholarships for specialist training. Training a single specialist costs about Rp1 billion (over US$61,000).

"To meet our current need through scholarships alone, the state would have to spend around Rp70 trillion," he said.

He acknowledged that it is not realistic to reach the target within two years but emphasized the need for immediate reform.

"We know we can't fix this in two years — but we must begin now. We can't wait another 80 years," he said.

As a solution, Sadikin proposed integrating medical education into local general hospitals, taking inspiration from models in South Korea, the UK, and the US, where medical students receive clinical training while working.

"They work, they get paid, they don't pay tuition, and they're allowed to practice. This eases the financial burden on the state and improves recruitment — because local hospitals can select and train their own talent," Sadikin explained.

"This approach also ensures fairer opportunities for students outside major cities like Jakarta or Bandung. We're designing a medical education system that works for everyone," he added.

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Translator: Sean, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Anton Santoso
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