Many parts of the world are still struggling with the #COVID-19 pandemic, including Papua and West Papua. Even so, both provinces have already been dealing with plenty of health development issues. This is why Professor Imron Cotan, a Papua and International Politics observer, assessed that the Papua Special Autonomy Fund (Otsus) has a very positive impact.
The special autonomy fund is concentrated in four strategic sectors based on the Special Autonomy Law Number 21 of 2021 (currently on revision progress). These sectors include education, health, infrastructure, and empowerment of the local community’s creative economy.
After the webinar for Moya Discussion Group-Unity In Pembangunan Diversity Development, Professor Imron stated:
“I am afraid that many people are not aware of Papua’s real condition. So, in terms of the development of the four strategic sectors through the Papua Special Autonomy fund, there are many challenges,” said Professor Imron. The webinar, which was held in November 2020, discussed health development in Papua through the special autonomy fund.
Based on the professor’s analysis, here are the main challenges of health development in Papua and West Papua:
-
The vast land and the unevenly spread population
For starters, both provinces are really vast. The land of Papua is about 312,224 km2, while West Papua is about 102,946 km2. The lands consist of various environments, from lush jungles and forests to slightly developed and urbanized areas.
The next issue here is the unevenly spread population. Based on the 2019 census, about 3,379 million people are living in Papua. Meanwhile, based on the 2020 census, about 1,134,068 people are living in West Papua. Some live in the city to get more and easier access to plenty of facilities, from health to education.
Professor Imron suggested that area expansion be done. That way, more people in both provinces would have more access to so many things fairly, especially in terms of health development.
So, how to make sure that health access can be more realized that way?
-
Lack of proper health access, including healthcare facilities and health practitioners
Lack of proper health access includes the available health facilities and health practitioners. According to Professor Imron, this is not ideal. Imagine that Indonesia as a whole is already short on doctors and nurses. For example, one specialist has to cater to at least 300 patients.
In that case, imagine the health development in both Papua and West Papua. Professor Imron suggested that the medical schools in Indonesia should accelerate preparing doctors and nurses to work in rural areas. It is even better if they are also willing to work long-term in villages.
-
The safety factors for all healthcare practitioners on duty in west papua
This last part is also easier said than done. After all, working in rough, unpredictable terrains like jungles can be dangerous. Having to deal with the weather changes, health practitioners must also be cautious with wild animals and look after themselves well.
Another thing that healthcare providers and practitioners have to worry about is other people. In this case, Professor Imron specifies them as people willing to harm other people in terms of money and terror, especially since the jungle is also very strategic for these types of people in terms of temporary hiding and ambushing.
“If their security is disturbed by irresponsible people, they will not come to the Regency or District to provide health services. For this reason, we are requesting the officers to provide health insurance to them on duty on beaches, mountains when carrying out their duties. We also urge people who hold weapons not to terrorize them (health practitioners) while carrying out humanitarian tasks in Papua,” he explained.
He stated that the government had decided to increase the special allocation fund for the two regions in Papua to 2.5 percent from two percent. He asked the internal and external inspectors to hopefully monitor the spending of the Special Autonomy funds in APBD funds.
“Of all the friends we know in Papua, all of them are positive about the Otsus funds. It’s just that some of them are still scattered or not optimally used. For this reason, supervision is very important so that funds are distributed properly. That way, things will get better in Papua,” Professor Imron added.
It turns out that the health development in both still needs some more time to grow. Based on Professor Imron Cotan, these three factors are the main challenges to it. It takes a lot of hard work and cooperation between the government and the local citizens. The rest of Indonesia with more privileges should help, especially since the #COVID19 pandemic has made everything harder on many people.
Hopefully, after the pandemic, Papua and West Papua will start having more health development in their lands.
