Jakarta Globe, Herman Genie & Dina Manafe, Mar 19, 2015
Women in rural Indonesia depend on midwives, particularly in remote areas without adequate health care facilities. (Photo courtesy of World Vision Indonesia) |
Jakarta.
Indonesian mothers who give birth assisted by a midwife will soon be covered by
the universal health insurance scheme BPJS Kesehatan, after the state insurer
signed an agreement with the Indonesian Midwife Association.
The deal is
crucial, BPJS Kesehatan president director Fachmi Idris said on Thursday, to
combat the maternal and infant mortality rates, given that many women in rural
Indonesia depend on midwives, particularly in remote areas without adequate
health care facilities.
Fachmi also
said the deal would allow mothers to register their unborn children with the
BPJS scheme. Currently, parents can only apply for their children after they
are born, meaning any congenital ailments are not covered.
Midwives —
trained only to handle the natural childbirth process — will also be able to
quickly transfer their patients to clinics and hospitals under the scheme.
Midwives
association chairwoman Emi Nurjasmi said there were currently 300,000 midwives
in the organization, 47,000 of whom worked individually.
“In terms
of quantity it’s enough. However, they’re not well distributed,” she said. The
majority of midwives are concentrated in Java, Indonesia’s most populous and
developed island.
“Meanwhile,
in other islands we don’t have enough. Approximately 20 percent of villages [in
Indonesia] do not have access to midwives,” Emi said.
She added
midwives working in remote areas were usually contract workers.
“Once their
contracts are over, they leave. So [these midwives] should be made permanent
staff or public officials,” she said.
Emi said
midwives were often neglected by the government and considered outside the
regular health system, despite aiding some 87 percent of all pregnancies and 65
percent of all natural childbirths.
“Many clinics
refuse to create a network with midwives. They see us as competition. But
clinics must realize it’s about providing better services,” she said.
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