TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Chief of the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) mitigation team, Adib Khumaidi, predicted that 300,000 people would lose access to doctors as 115 doctors have died during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Losing doctors will surely result in a decrease in the quality of health services for Indonesian people," said Adib in a written statement on Monday, September 14, 2020.

Adib explained that the estimation was obtained with the assumption that one doctor serves 2,500 people. Because, Indonesia's number of doctors is the lowest in Southeast Asia at 0.4 percent per 1,000 population, meaning that four doctors serve 10,000 people.

The ratio of specialist doctors is also low at 0.13 percent per 1,000 population, Adib added. In addition, the distribution of health workers is concentrated in Java and major cities.

According to Adib, the government needed to be firm in making concrete steps in the protection and safety of doctors and medical workers, such as by establishing a national committee on the matter.

The committee, Adib went on, could integrate all health stakeholders to focus on the protection and safety, as well as monitoring efforts.

"The need for doctors is certainly a homework for professional organizations and specialist associations to continue ensuring the national health services for the public," the IDI chief of the mitigation team concluded.

FRISKI RIANA