Health

The health care sector in Indonesia is in the midst of change, with the government making a final push to roll out universal health care (UHC) against the backdrop of the global Covid-19 pandemic. The plan had initially aimed to bring the population of over 268m under coverage by end-2019, but it had yet to achieve the targeted levels of funding and coverage as of early 2020. While the health system is currently tackling multiple burdens, it is limited by comparatively low government spending, rising labour costs and insufficient infrastructure. The move towards UHC is driving demand for private health care, opening new opportunities for collaboration. Going forwards, investment in digital health and technology-based platforms – highlighted during the novel Coronavirus outbreak – must continue to ensure that the health care sector’s reach is vast and sufficient. This should also spur greater focus on personal health across the population. This chapter contains interviews with Terawan Agus Putranto, Minister of Health; and Jonathan Sudharta, Founder, Halodoc