4/1/2011
7:58pm
Indonesia is increasing the spending on free health care in order to tackle the rise in diseases from stokes to AIDS. It also wants a private sector to build more hospitals and to reserve a quarter of the beds available to the poor. The plan is to cover basic hospital medical services nationwide, to ensure Indonesians who live in poverty get free hospital treatment. The extra spending comes as much of Asia seeks to improve healthcare facilities to prepare for an increase in chronic long-term illnesses. The aim is that when people are hospitalized in class 3 hospital beds it would be covered by either the central government or the provincial. In 2009, 76.4 million Indonesians who were considered to be poor received free medical services in class-3 hospital beds, up from 36.4 million people in 2005. Currently, 56 percent of Indonesia's 238 million population have some form of health insurance. Under Indonesia's 2011 budget, the Health Ministry has been allocated 26.2 trillion rupiah, an increase of 10 percent. Last year the government opened up its healthcare sector to foreign investment and is encouraging private hospital builders to reserve space for its free health program.
As the income grows for the middle class rise there is an increase in lifestyle diseases. Leaving places like Indonesia to confront a rise in chronic, non-communicable diseases such as stroke, heart disease and cancer, even though infectious illnesses like tuberculosis, malaria, childhood diarrhea and dengue remain huge problems. The health ministry is looking to extend health services as well as study the possibility of reducing the salt content in fast food, along with improving the health of a nation with a high mortality rate for children under five. Indonesia had 4,158 newly confirmed HIV infections in 2010, up from 3,863 in 2009. It had a cumulative 24,131 HIV/AIDS cases by end-2010. Because of religious reasons it’s difficult to control the spread of HIV because the use of condoms cannot be promoted. Controlling the spread of HIV was difficult because the use of condoms cannot be promoted due to religious sensitivities in the world's most populous Muslim country. The health ministry is asking NGOs and religious communities to become more active in promoting safe sex.
The idea to help those who aren’t able to afford hospital treatment is very a move into a positive direction into helping sort of the forgotten people. With the poor receiving hospital treatment this could help in reducing certain illnesses that are brought about from being poor. With the increase in funds brought on by Indonesia’s budget there is still that precautionary thought of will the money continue to bet there. The increase in lifestyle diseases seems to have become a global issue and with the health ministry looking to develop interventions along with hospital treatment could potentially start an outline for other nations to follow.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/29/us-indonesia-health-services-idUSTRE72S67H20110329?pageNumber=1
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