Government Committed to Allocating 5% of the Budget for Health

The government is committed to fulfilling the health budget allocation of 5% of the national budget. This is in accordance with Law Number 9 of 2009 concerning Health. In the 2018 State Budget (APBN), the budget for the health sector reached Rp 111 trillion, or approximately five percent of the total government expenditure of Rp 2,220.7 trillion.

According to data from the Ministry of Finance, the health budget increased by 5.8% from the previous year, which was Rp 104 trillion. Compared to the 2018 State Budget Draft (RAPBN), this year's health budget increased by Rp 800 billion. The 2018 health budget was allocated at Rp 81.5 trillion for the central government and Rp 29.5 trillion for transfers to regions.

This health budget is intended to increase the quantity and quality of adequate health services, support the implementation of the National Health Insurance (JKN), and strengthen promotive and preventive health programs. Health indicators targeted for this year include: the percentage of births in health facilities increasing to 82% from the previous 81%; the availability of medicines and vaccines at community health centers (puskesmas) increasing to 86% from 83%; and improvement in child nutrition with a reduction in the stunting rate to 28.8% from 29.6%.