In Papua, it can take hours or even days to go to a doctor.
For many villages in Indonesia’s easternmost provinces, getting to a hospital can involve flying in a small plane, crossing rugged terrain, or using limited transit that doesn’t always run on time. And even when patients get there, the experience doesn’t always live up to their hopes. There is a wide range of facilities. There may be missing parts on the equipment. Administrative systems are frequently inconsistent.
This is a fact that has been true in Papua’s healthcare for a long time. One that Jakarta’s policymakers have known about for years but have had trouble adequately fixing.
Now, there is a new push to change that.
Ribka Haluk, the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, is at the center of this initiative. She has adopted a direct and unique approach to advocating for better management of public hospitals across Papua. She doesn’t position her message as a long-term goal. It is shown as a top priority right now.
She said that hospitals in Papua must meet basic service requirements. Not later, but now.
A System Under Strain
To understand why this push is important, it’s helpful to look at how healthcare is right now in Papua.
Public hospitals, especially Regional General Hospitals (RSUDs), are supposed to be the main portion of the healthcare system. They offer important services including emergency care and maternal health, and they often send patients to smaller clinics in the neighborhood.
But the hospitals in Papua have not always done well.
Some facilities work well because they have good people and enough resources. Some places have trouble with not having enough staff, not having enough equipment, and administrative problems that make everything from registering patients to giving them treatment harder.
These differences aren’t new.
They are the result of a number of things, including as topography, how resources are used, and problems with government. Running a hospital in a rural Papuan district is very different from running one in a big city.
But the hopes are still the same. Patients come in looking for care, frequently in a hurry, and expect to be treated.
The Government Steps In
Ribka Haluk made it plain during a series of talks and site visits in Papua in late March 2026 that the central government will no longer accept standards that are not the same across the board.
She stressed that all public hospitals in Papua must follow what Indonesia calls Minimum Service Standards. These guidelines set the minimum level of care that all hospitals, no matter where they are, should deliver.
The order is clear.
Hospitals need to make their management systems better. They need to make sure that services are easy to get to, reliable, and answerable. And they need to be in line with national healthcare policies that try to make things more equal between areas.
Haluk’s method is interesting since it is clear.
Her message is very clear. There is no choice except to reform. It is necessary.
Beyond Infrastructure
Haluk’s words stress that improving healthcare is not just about building new buildings.
Indonesia has spent money over the past ten years to improve healthcare facilities in Papua. They have built new buildings. The equipment has been given out. More money has come in.
But the results haven’t always been what these efforts were meant to achieve.
This is when governance becomes really important.
Haluk has stressed the need to make hospitals better run, from managing their money to providing services. This means that local governments and hospital administration need to work together better, and there need to be clearer ways to hold people accountable.
In real life, this could include making sure that resources are used wisely, workers are assigned correctly, and services are provided in a way that satisfies set criteria.
It is a change from concentrating on inputs to concentrating on results.
The Role of Local Governments
Healthcare in Indonesia is decentralized, which means that local governments are in charge of running public hospitals.
This makes things even more complicated in Papua.
Local governments have different amounts of power, money, and experience. Some people are better at running healthcare systems than others.
Haluk wants to make changes that will make local governments stronger and make sure they follow national standards.
This needs to be coordinated.
Central authorities give advice and keep an eye on things. Local governments make rules and run things on a daily basis. Hospitals provide services in person.
The system functions when these layers work well together. Gaps seem when they don’t.
A Focus on Accountability
Haluk’s approach often includes the idea of being responsible.
Hospitals don’t merely give services. They are public institutions that get their money from the government. Because of this, they are required to act in a clear and responsible way.
Haluk has asked for better ways to keep an eye on hospitals to make sure they reach their performance goals. This involves looking at the quality of service, how happy patients are, and how well the business runs.
The goal is not just to find problems, but to fix them as soon as possible.
In places where resources are few, inefficiencies can have big effects. Delays in treatment, staff misallocation, or service delivery gaps can have a direct impact on patient outcomes.
The government wants to lower these risks by making people more accountable.
The Human Side of Healthcare
Real individuals are behind talks about policies and changes to the way things are run.
People who go a long way to get treatment. Families who are anxious to hear news. People who work in healthcare and have to deal with tough situations.
These kinds of stories are widespread in Papua.
A woman who wants to get care for her child may have to go through several recommendations before she can get to a hospital that can help. Due to a lack of resources, a patient with a long-term illness may not always be able to get the care they need.
The problems are just as real for people who work in health care. Longer hours are needed because there aren’t enough staff. Having less equipment might make everyday tasks harder.
Haluk’s focus on making hospital governance better is ultimately meant to deal with these problems.
Better management can make services work better. Better outcomes can come from services that work better.
Challenges on the Ground
Even though the path is obvious, it won’t be easy to make changes in Papua.
Geography is still a big problem. Weather, infrastructure problems, or transportation problems can all make it harder to coordinate the logistics of getting medical supplies to remote places.
Another problem is human resources.
It is hard to get and keep qualified healthcare workers in distant areas. Incentives can assist, but they don’t always fix the root problems, including bad living conditions or a lack of chances to advance in your work.
There is also the issue of whether it will last.
Over time, reforms must be kept up. Systems that are put in place today need to keep working well in the future.
A Broader Vision for Papua
Haluk is pushing for healthcare reform as part of a bigger plan to make public services in Papua better.
Healthcare is intimately linked to other areas, such as education, infrastructure, and economic growth. Making things better in one area can help things get better in other areas.
For instance, better healthcare can make workers healthier, which can help the economy flourish. Better infrastructure can make it easier to get medical care.
This integrated approach shows that we have a better grasp of development.
It’s not about doing things on their own. It’s about making systems that help each other.
Early Signs of Change
There are signs that the movement for change is gaining ground, even though it’s still early.
There have been more talks between the central and local governments. Hospitals are starting to look over how they run their businesses. People are paying more attention to meeting service standards.
These are the first steps.
The true indicator of success will be the onset of significant improvements in patients.
Less time spent waiting. Services that are more reliable. Better results.
Looking Ahead
Ribka Haluk has a job to do that is both technical and very personal.
It means making sure that policies are in line with each other, that processes are better, and that people are held accountable. But it also means knowing what life is like for people in Papua.
Her way of doing things shows that she is in a hurry.
Healthcare is not an abstract matter. It is immediate. It has an effect on lives right now.
Conclusion
The talk around health care is changing in Papua.
From developing facilities to running them well. From giving out resources to making sure they are used correctly. From talking about policies to getting things done.
Ribka Haluk’s efforts to change public hospitals are a step in that direction.
It doesn’t fix everything. That won’t work because the problems are too hard.
But it does mean that investing more in healthcare isn’t enough to make it better. It needs rules, responsibility, and a focus on the people who rely on it.
That transformation may be the most crucial one for many people in Papua.