Prabowo to Open 30 Medical Faculties and 500 Hospitals in Every Regency

August 26, 2025 | 08:11 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Prabowo Subianto has announced plans to open 30 new medical faculties across Indonesian universities, although he has not yet set a timeline for the rollout.

The government will also launch 148 new study programs in 57 medical faculties this year. These include 125 specialist programs and 23 sub-specialist programs.

Prabowo said the initiative is aimed at addressing Indonesia’s severe shortage of doctors. The country currently lacks around 70,000 specialist doctors and 140,000 general practitioners.

“If we don’t act quickly, it could take us 35 years to meet this need,” Prabowo said during the inauguration of the Mahar Mardjono National Brain Center Hospital (RS PON) in Cawang, Jakarta, on Tuesday, August 26, 2025.

At present, universities produce about 12,000 general practitioners and 2,700 specialist doctors each year. Prabowo considers this number far too low and urged his cabinet to move faster and embrace innovation. “We cannot pursue Indonesia’s prosperity with business as usual,” he said.

In addition to medical education, Prabowo pledged to build 500 hospitals in each regency within the next four years. “The health minister must find a way to ensure 500 high-quality hospitals are available across Indonesia,” he emphasized.

This is not the first time Prabowo has raised the issue. During his state address at the MPR annual session on August 16, he also outlined plans for 148 new medical programs and an expanded quota of scholarships for medical students, although he did not disclose figures.

Earlier, on June 25, he instructed Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin and Higher Education Minister Brian Yuliarto to accelerate the establishment of new medical faculties and nursing academies.

Medical experts, however, have expressed concern that the plan is too ambitious. The Indonesian Association of Medical Professors (MGBKI) warned that the lack of qualified educators could compromise the quality of training.

MGBKI chairperson Budi Iman Santoso said the government should first secure sufficient teaching staff before expanding programs.

“Like building a house, you need a strong foundation. Input standards must be met before chasing output,” he explained during a declaration of medical professors at the University of Indonesia on August 22.

He added that establishing a medical program requires years of preparation and that rushing the process risks lowering competency standards, which could ultimately endanger patient safety. “In medicine, failure is not an option because human lives are at stake,” he said.

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