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Indonesia increases health spending, wants vaccinations day and night
The government has again increased projected health spending for this year as the pandemic continues to worsen.
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Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, pictured above during a press conference on July 2, said on Monday, that the government had changed budget allocations for the year and vastly increased health spending in response to a worsening coronavirus pandemic. (Finance Minister/screenshot)
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he government’s health budget for 2021 has doubled since the beginning of the year to Rp 193.93 trillion (US$1.34 billion) as the pandemic continues to worsen and affect more and more Indonesians.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said the budgeted funds were for diagnostics, testing and tracing, health equipment, COVID-19 hospital treatment and a financial incentive for healthcare workers. The budget allocation has been increased multiple times, from Rp 87.55 trillion to Rp 172 trillion and Rp185 trillion before reaching Rp193.93 trillion after the latest increase announced on Monday.
Sri Mulyani said the government had procured more than 53.9 million doses of coronavirus vaccines so far as it sought to increase the vaccine rollout to 2 million doses per day as soon as possible and to 3 million doses per day by October.
“Bapak President says all parties must cooperate to increase vaccination targets, and [he] has requested that vaccinations be carried out in the morning, afternoon and evening,” Sri Mulyani told reporters at an online press conference on Monday.
Read also: No extra debt despite emergency curbs, lower growth, govt vows
The spread of COVID-19 in Indonesia has accelerated over the past weeks and reached a peak of more than 29,000 cases per day on Monday. The government has responded by imposing emergency public activity restrictions (PPKM Darurat), which include tighter rules for traveling and business activities.
Sri Mulyani noted that vaccination was essential to keep as many Indonesians as possible safe from the virus. The number of positive cases, she said, determined the trajectory of economic growth.
