Resource Library

The Indonesia Private Health Sector

The Indonesian health care system is inadequate to meet the needs of the country's population. The country's health indicators are low in comparison those of other ASEAN countries and public health care resources are not sufficient. Growth of medical services has not kept pace with population growth or demographic changes over the last decade and Indonesia has relatively fewer healthcare assets now than it did in 1990. Decentralization, which began in 2001, will stretch these funds even more. Unless major changes can be effected and more emphasis is given to private healthcare, the adequacy of the system will continue to decline and the hard won gains in health status of the last three decades will be jeopardized. There is a need for new strategies and approaches to meet the healthcare needs of the Indonesian people in which private health care will play a larger role.