|
Indonesia Government Support
One of the most notable features of Indonesia's health
care
system, in comparison with other Southeast Asian nations,
was the
low level of government support (see
table 13, Appendix).
The
modern health care system continued the Dutch colonial
pattern of
low investment in health care. The Dutch did relatively
little in
the field of public health prior to 1910, with the
exception of
giving smallpox vaccinations. In the 1930s, however, the
government
devoted increased attention to health education and
disease
prevention, particularly in rural areas. An elaborate
public health
infrastructure had developed by 1939, including a
particularly
sophisticated model program in Purwokerto in Jawa Tengah
Province.
But this public health system collapsed after the Japanese
invasion
in 1942. During World War II, mortality rose dramatically
and the
general health situation of the country deteriorated.
In the postwar period, a network of maternal and child
health
centers was established, but resources were extremely
limited, with
one physician for every 100,000 people. The first dramatic
improvements resulted from the establishment of the
network of
community health centers. Although there was considerable
resistance by the general population toward using these
facilities
at first, by the 1980 census, 40 percent of people
reporting
illness in the prior week had sought treatment at one of
the
community health centers.
Unfortunately, direct central government spending on
health
(apart from intergovernmental transfers) fell by 45
percent in real
terms between FY 1982 and FY 1987 because of the declining
revenues
from the oil industry. The Outer Islands continued to
suffer a
severe shortage of physicians and hospitals, but this
deficit was
partially offset by a higher percentage of community
health
centers, staffed by health care workers.
Data as of November 1992
|
