The Deputy Minister Of Health Calls 2,200 Scholarships To Meet The Needs Of Health Workers

DOC VOI

JAKARTA - Deputy Minister of Health (Wamenkes) Dante Saksono Harbuwono said more than 2,200 scholarships and specialist and subspecialist workshops were given to meet the needs of medical personnel and health workers in Indonesia.

He explained that the scholarship was given to those interested in pursuing specialist education in Indonesia, provided that they returned to their area where they used to work after their education was completed.

"The lack of specialist doctors is still happening in all provinces in Indonesia. About 59 percent of specialist doctors are still concentrated in Java Island, 30 provinces are still lacking in specialist doctors, 34 hospitals do not yet have seven basic specialists, and if left alone it will take 10 years," said Dante in a meeting with Commission IX DPR reported by ANTARA, Monday, March 25.

The Deputy Minister of Health explained a number of other efforts to meet the needs of these human resources, for example utilization in Remote Islands Border Areas (DTPK), procurement of ASN JF Kesehatan in central and regional areas, and recalling 21 specialist doctors abroad.

"For this diaspora staff, there are already 21 diaspora specialist doctors who are currently carrying out the adaptation process in Indonesia and 63 doctors are waiting and in the administrative process we will immediately adapt this year," he said.

The Deputy Minister of Health stated that in education in the health sector, there were obstacles, such as Government Regulation Number 57 of 2022 concerning the Implementation of Higher Education which temporarily suspended higher education licensing at other ministries and non-ministerial government institutions until the evaluation of the education administration by the Ministry of Education and Culture was completed.

He gave an example, the national need for therapeutic occupation and speech therapists is around 4,000 people, but the total number of study programs in Indonesia is only four for therapeutic occupancy and five for speech therapists. In addition, the average graduate per year is around 200 people.

"So, if we let it go and we don't take any action, we can only fulfill it after 20 years later," he said.

Therefore, he said, his party always coordinates with the Ministry of Education and Culture to implement educational permits so that the study programs needed can be opened in polytechnics to meet national needs.