The Government Has Allocated A Health Budget Of IDR 217.3 Trillion In 2025

Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin/ANTARA PHOTO/GALIH PRADIPTA)

JAKARTA - The government has allocated a health budget for 2025 of around IDR 217.3 trillion or approximately six percent of the total 2025 State Budget, even though the obligation to allocate a budget for health has been removed in Health Law Number 17 of 2023.

Head of the Communication and Public Service Bureau of the Ministry of Health, Aji Muhawarman, said that of the total health budget, the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) will manage around Rp129.8 trillion. A total of Rp105.6 trillion, he said, will be managed by the Ministry of Health, while Rp24.2 trillion is allocated to local governments (Pemda) in the form of physical and unphysical Special Allocation Funds (DAK).

"With this six percent allocation, of course, the government is committed to managing it effectively and efficiently for improving the quality and access of health services," said Aji as quoted by ANTARA, Monday, November 4.

The funds, he continued, will be used to support President Prabowo Subianto's flagship programs in realizing healthy and productive Human Resources (HR), as well as the success of the health transformation agenda.

Aji said the acceleration program in the health sector which will be implemented starting in 2025, namely free health checks, decreased TB cases, and the construction of Class D/D Pratama regional hospitals to Class C.

"Another strategic program of the Ministry of Health includes accelerating stunting reduction through providing nutritious food for pregnant/jugitive women and toddlers, as well as controlling infectious diseases such as malaria and AIDS," he said.

In addition, he said, the 2025 health budget includes strengthening access and health services in all regions, such as improving the JKN Program, providing facilities and infrastructure, and strengthening the independence of the domestic pharmaceutical industry.

To support these strategic programs, said Aji, the government has also allocated funds for education and training for health workers to increase the capacity and skills of health human resources so that the quality and distribution of health human resources is more equitable.

"With a larger health budget, it is hoped that Indonesia can improve the quality of life of the community as a whole," he hoped.

The obligation to allocate budget is removed from the Health Law because the government and the House of Representatives (DPR) want to change the paradigm of health spending from the obligation to allocate a budget for any health expenditure to become a health program based on needs.

Before the Health Law, the program was prepared based on the paradigm of how to spend five percent of the health budget allocation obligation, so there is a tendency for artificial programs, which is important for budgets to be spent. For example, the stunting budget is used for the renovation of the puskesmas fence. This is not efficient and not on target," said Aji.

"In the new paradigm, the budget is made based on the needs and programs that will be carried out so that it is more targeted. So it is not true that the issue circulating the loss of mandatory spending in the Health Law means that the health budget will decrease in the future," said Aji.