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HEALTHCARE IN TRANSFORMATION:

An exclusive conversation with dr. Sunarto, M. Kes, Ministry of Health, Indonesia

A Nation on the Move Indonesia, the world’ s fourth most populous nation, is undergoing a healthcare renaissance that aims to bridge decades-long disparities in access, quality, and service delivery. From the densely populated island of Java to the remote corners of Papua and Maluku, the Ministry of Health( MOH) is leading a strategic, multi-pillar transformation to ensure equitable, affordable, and high-quality healthcare for all.

JKN, Indonesia’ s universal health insurance scheme that launched in 2014, continues to be the backbone of this initiative. JKN stands for Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional, which translates to National Health Insurance. Administered by BPJS Kesehatan( the Social Security Agency for Health), JKN aims to provide comprehensive healthcare services to all Indonesian citizens, especially the underprivileged, through a pooled funding system.

The challenge for the government was to expand the scheme to achieve universal health coverage by 2019, while tackling regional disparities in service quality and accessibility, managing resources effectively, controlling costs and minimizing fraud, engaging the private sector, and maintaining investment in health promotion and prevention programs.

As of today, the national vision remains not only ambitious but also deeply rooted in constitutional values that recognize health as a fundamental human right. With the introduction of sweeping reforms across the public and private sectors, a new era of health equity, innovation, and resilience is taking shape.

To understand the heartbeat of this transformation, we spoke with dr. Sunarto from the Indonesian MOH, who provided an in-depth look at the progress, challenges, and aspirations shaping the future of healthcare in the archipelago. dr. Sunarto, M. Kes., currently serves as the Director of Health Services Governance at Indonesia’ s MOH. Born in Medan, he earned his Master’ s degree in Public Health from Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta. Prior to his current role, he was a Policy Analyst at the Directorate of Health Services Governance. dr. Sunarto, M. Kes

Bridging the Healthcare Gap When reflecting on Indonesia’ s healthcare offerings today compared to a decade ago, dr. Sunarto shared,“ The transformation over the past decade has been significant. We have made strides in expanding access and improving quality, particularly through the establishment of more than 10,000 community health centers, or Puskesmas, throughout the country. However, challenges remain as 3.12 % of these centers still operate without doctors, and 66 % lack full specialist teams.”

He further shared that the hospital network has grown to 3,200 facilities, with 56 % operated by the private sector. Approximately 70 % of these are classified as Class A and B hospitals, which offer advanced medical services. The Ministry is also expanding the number of public hospitals under the MOH, currently at 39, with two more expected by the end of 2025. A highlight of the Ministry’ s strategy is the development of vertical hospitals( Kemenkes), designed to serve multiple purposes:

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