PAPUA – The government continues to demonstrate its commitment to accelerating development in Papua through various programs focused on improving people’s welfare, one of the main aspects of this development is the improvement of health facilities throughout the Papua region, an important step in line with the national program “Healthy Papua, Smart Papua, and Prosperous Papua.”
Vice President, Ma’ruf Amin, on various occasions emphasized the importance of accelerating development in Papua, especially in the health sector. Ma’ruf Amin explained that currently, Papua is in the process of accelerating development through the “Healthy Papua, Smart Papua, and Prosperous Papua” program. Through this program, each region in Papua will have its own health services.
The Government’s focus on ensuring that every Papuan, with its challenging geography and dispersed population, faces many challenges in providing quality health services and therefore the Government feels the need to design programs that not only improve the quality of health facilities, but also ensure the availability of adequate medical personnel throughout Papua.
In supporting the Central Government’s policy, the Papua Provincial Government through the Health Office is also taking strategic steps to ensure quality health services in all corners of Papua. Secretary of the Papua Provincial Health Office, Aaron Rumainum explained that the Papua Provincial Government through the Health Office has implemented a contract system for specialist doctors so that the availability of medical personnel in the Papua region continues to exist while improving health facility services, this is also part of an effort to maintain the availability of medical personnel in the Papua region.
This step is very important considering the limited number of specialists in Papua which is a major challenge in providing adequate health services and with the contract system it is hoped that more specialists will be interested in working in Papua and so that people in remote areas can receive medical services that are equivalent to other regions in Indonesia.
In addition to the steps taken by the Central and Provincial Governments, efforts to improve health facilities are also being made at the district level, one clear example is in Mimika District, where the local government is very focused on improving the quality of health services for its citizens.
Plt. The Regent of Mimika, Johannes Rettob, stated that health facilities at RS Waa Banti, Tembagapura District, will continue to be improved, so that people in the region can be well served and all Health Facilities that perform services in Mimika are currently the full attention of the Mimika Regency Government, especially Primary Hospitals and also Puskesmas. The improvement of health facilities in Mimika shows how the Regional Government also plays an active role in supporting the National program and with this improvement, Waa Banti Hospital and other health facilities in Mimika are expected to provide better and faster health services to the community, especially for those living in remote areas, although various efforts have been made, the Government still faces many challenges in improving health facilities in Papua, namely:
- Inadequate infrastructure,
- Difficult geographical conditions,
- The lack of medical personnel is still an obstacle in realizing optimal health services throughout Papua.
With a strong commitment from the Central, Provincial and District Governments, as well as active participation from the community, it is hoped that these challenges can be overcome.
The government hopes that the Healthy Papua, Smart Papua, and Prosperous Papua programs will be a long-term solution in improving the welfare of the Papuan people. These programs not only focus on physical development, but also on improving the quality of life through better access to education and health and in addition the participation of various parties, including the private sector and non-governmental organizations, is also highly expected to support the government’s efforts in improving health facilities in Papua. With good cooperation between the government, the private sector, and the community, development in Papua can run faster and more effectively.
Improving health facilities in Papua is one of the Government’s top priorities in order to accelerate development and improve people’s welfare and through the Healthy Papua, Smart Papua, and Prosperous Papua programs, the Government is committed to ensuring that every region in Papua has adequate health services and these efforts are supported by strategic steps taken by the Papua Provincial Government and local governments, as seen in the case of improving health facilities in Mimika Regency.
