Jokowi: COVID-19 Exposes Problems within Healthcare Sector

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Thursday said the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed a number of deficiencies and issues across a number of sectors such as healthcare, economic security, social issues, up to food distribution.

The former governor of two Indonesian regions said that the pandemic has highlighted the nation’s dependency on other countries. 

“As an example, in the healthcare sector and pharmaceutical industry, 95 percent of the raw ingredients needed are still imported,” said Jokowi in opening the virtual national development planning meeting at the Merdeka Palace today, April 30.

Moreover, he also noted the limited domestic production of healthcare equipment that forced the state to relies on other countries.

The self-reflection opening speech from the president also mentioned the ratio of Indonesia’s medical specialists and nurses and questioned if the ones available today are enough to face the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“What we can produce ourselves and what we purchase from other countries is now even more visible than ever,” said President Jokowi. “The COVID-19 pandemic makes us aware of how important health security is.”

According to the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI), the ratio of hospital beds compared to the population is 1.2 per 1,000 while the ratio of doctors is merely 0.4 per 1,000, which means there are only 4 doctors for every 10,000 people in Indonesia. 

DEWI NURITA