Healthcare in Indonesia

Official data from the Indonesian authority shows that the government invested more than 3% of its gross domestic product (or GDP) for it healthcare industry. The same report also indicated that expenditure accounted to the medical private sector is approximately one quarter of total government spending.

 One of the biggest problems the health authority in modern Indonesia faces is filthy drinking water. The lack of clean water has often been cited as the primary reason that diarrhea is such a common phenomenon over here, claiming alarmingly high number of childhood victims each year.

 Common Diseases in Indonesia

 The health situation in Indonesia is compounded by the wide spread of HIV/AIDS in the country. Measured in term of prevalence, Indonesia is just behind the regional hotbeds among the ASEAN (short for Association of South East Asia Nations) member countries. There have been 150,000 reported cases; which caused 2,400 deaths. In Jakarta city, the capital of Indonesia, HIV/AIDS is known to have a significant number of  victims.

 The country is also troubled severely from infectious diseases like dengue fever, avian influenza and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). According to report release by World Health Organization (or WHO), effectively all provincials in the country are ravaged by dengue fever and DHF.

 Air Quality in Indonesia

It is customary for Indonesian farmers to burn bushes for land cultivation before they grow their crops, and bush fire can often be spotted amidst the agricultural land during certain seasons of the year. However in recent years, these bush fire has become more frequent and bigger in term of scale due to either negligence of the locals or indiscriminate burning.  In 1997 and 2006, major forest burning in the country caused the entire South East Asian region being covered by thick smog. As the smog descended on the neighboring countries, health authorities in those countries had to resort to issue health alerts; warning its residents to stay in-door. The smog is believed to be a source of a number of acute health conditions. During those periods, a record number of patients were rushed to the emergency rooms for treatments on respiratory related diseases. Patients were observed to have experience deterioration in lung function, upper respiratory infection as well as asthma. In addition to the damage on the respiratory tracts, the smog also caused eye and skin irritations at that time.

Should you travel in Indonesia we encourage you to purchase a comprehensive health insurance to protect yourself and your family from unexpected diseases. In order to find a suitable medical insurance in Indonesia you may ask us for a comprehensive health insurance quotation.