TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin reveals that Indonesia requires Rp70 trillion to achieve the demand of 70,000 specialist doctors in the next ten years. The budget is equivalent to the cost of scholarships for state-funded specialist medical education through the Endowment Fund for Education Agency (LPDP).
"That's a huge amount to fulfill our targets of 70 thousand doctors," said Budi during the Acceleration Program for Improving Access and Quality of Medical Personnel Education on Tuesday, July 22, 2025.
Indonesia is currently able to produce 2,700 specialist doctors each year; thus, it will take about 26 years to achieve the target.
"Even when we reach 100 years of independence [in 2045], we will still have a shortage of specialist doctors," he said.
Budi explained that this crisis involves not only the number of specialists but also their uneven distribution and the high cost of education. As an example, he noted the imbalanced distribution of cardiologists: "Many provinces are still in the red or yellow regarding the fulfillment of their specialist cardiologists."
"It's been 80 years since we gained independence, but we are still lacking doctors. It's a pity for the one million Indonesians who die each year," Budi expressed.
He added that the shortage of specialist doctors is not merely an administrative challenge, but a humanitarian issue that directly impacts the lives of the people.
Budi stated that the government is currently evaluating the specialist doctor education system and developing strategies to expedite the fulfillment of the demand for specialist doctors in Indonesia.
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