Jakarta (ANTARA) – Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati expects that the state budget (APBN) can be used to improve health education, such as through the Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP).
“The Fellowship for doctors is only one part of LPDP. I know many specialist and sub-specialist doctors, who take scholarships or fellowships,” Indrawati remarked at the inauguration of the domestic and foreign specialist doctor fellowship program here on Monday.
The program was a collaboration between LPDP, which is under the auspices of the Finance Ministry, and the Health Ministry.
In 2010, the government allocated 20 percent of the state budget for education, with the initial allocation for LPDP amounting to IDR 1 trillion, and now, the budget has reached IDR 140 trillion (US$ 9.5 billion).
In addition to fellowships, the minister expects that the training of trainers programs will be conducted for doctors, so they can serve the Indonesian population that totals 270 million.
“Let us remember that knowledge and experience should be shared with others. The contract mechanism for doctors, who practice in medical faculties and hospitals, can be arranged,” she stated.
She requested that the LPDP and the Health Ministry create a special program, wherein doctors who undertake specialist education can be taught at the world’s best campuses together, so as to make costs cheaper.
“That way, we can improve the quality of our doctors, so that not only the number but also the quality is maintained,” she stated.
She encouraged ministries, the police, public universities, and local governments to optimize investment in the health sector that had been bolstered during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It is hoped that hospitals can synergize and do not compete against each other, as we can become stronger together,” he remarked.
Previously, the Health Ministry had stated that it along with the LPDP strives to increase the number of specialist medical education scholarship recipients, from 600 in 2022 to 1,600 in 2023.
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