Data Check: Ganjar Requests the Return of Mandatory Health Budget, How Has it Been Fulfilled So Far?

Presidential candidate number 3, Ganjar Pranowo, highlighted the removal of mandatory health budgeting in the new Law.

He made this statement during the fifth Presidential Election debate of 2024, themed Social Welfare, Culture, Education, Information Technology, Health, Employment, Human Resources, and Inclusion, held at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) on Sunday, February 4th, 2024.

Ganjar stated that the removal of mandatory health budgeting, as stipulated in Law Number 17 of 2023 concerning health, should be reinstated. For information, there was a mandatory health budget of 5% of the National Budget (APBN) and 10% of the Regional Budget (APBD) in the previous regulation, Law Number 36 of 2009 concerning Health.

“I think this must be reinstated. The 5-10% figure is a figure that can ensure that, in our health policy, services can be better,” said the PDI-P politician.

Although stipulated since 2009, the mandatory health budget of 5% of total national expenditure was not achieved until 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic occurred. At that time, the health budget reached 6.3% of total national expenditure. In 2021, the health budget reached 11.36% of total national expenditure.

In 2024, the health budget reached Rp 187.5 trillion out of a total national expenditure of Rp 3,325.1 trillion, or 5.6% of total national expenditure. This means that Indonesia's health budget is still above 5% even though the mandatory budget regulation has been removed.