Lack Of Specialist Doctors In Papua, DPR Asks For Safety Guarantee For Health Workers

Illustration of specialist doctors (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian House of Representatives asked the government to ensure security for specialist doctors who are interested in serving in Papuan conflict areas. Currently 335 specialist doctors in six provinces in Papua and that number is far from ideal.

"I think that security guarantees are that if there is no security guarantee for doctors who have just been on duty, we will evaluate the apparatus. The people's service cannot be maintained, if that's the case, it means that the state is not yet present for security guarantees," said Member of Commission I of the Indonesian House of Representatives Yan Permenas Mandenas, quoted by ANTARA Tuesday, April 4.

Data from the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) records that there are only 335 specialist doctors in six provinces in the Papua region. This number is considered very minimal and has an impact on the non-optimal health services for the community.

Yan assessed that there was a need for an evaluation of the security forces because many were careless in the area, so there were still many cases of murder of doctors and teachers.

"If our officers are not careless and the personnel we deploy are enough to form a police station and police station, our strength must be evenly distributed. Therefore, it is impossible for the victim to sacrifice the doctor, but also nurses, teachers and others." he said.

He assessed that the weaknesses of these officers were exploited by a number of insurgency groups in Papua. According to him, if the security forces are not careless while on duty, then they will be able to anticipate various kinds of security disturbances in Papua.

"Still they are on standby regularly by conducting detection monitoring patrols that must be carried out in order to prevent various kinds of crimes that we do not expect to appear and occur," he said.

Previously, the Head of the Communication and Public Service Bureau of the Indonesian Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) Siti Nadia Tarmizi ensured that efforts to equalize health workers (nakes) to reach remote areas and be left behind in Indonesia were also facilitated with safety guarantees.

"The state guarantees that they (health workers) get protection. The security of individual health workers in their duties is determined by behavior or other factors. Because the health workers who enter there have been told that they will enter the area," said Siti Nadia Tarmizi in Jakarta.

Nadia said the government had placed security personnel from TNI-Polri elements in all corners of the country to ensure the safety of residents, especially those in need.

Nadia appealed to health workers who feel they are threatened with their safety to immediately report to the authorities in the regions, to immediately obtain protection.