Indonesia brings specialist medical training to 11 more provinces

Indonesia has expanded training for specialist doctors into 11 provinces that previously had no such programmes, including East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku and Papua. The government says it has added 185 specialist and advanced-specialist training programmes since July 2025, surpassing its initial target and increasing the total from 366 to 551.

The next step is helping more doctors afford that training. On 22 October, Deputy Higher Education Minister Fauzan outlined plans for around 1,000 scholarships for doctors and dentists pursuing specialist qualifications in the 2026/27 academic year.

About 750 scholarships are planned through Indonesia’s public education endowment fund, LPDP. Its support will cover not just tuition, but also living costs, research, professional examinations and other study needs. Regional governments, hospitals, ministries and private partners are expected to support the remaining 250 scholarships.

Selection will take account of regional staffing shortages and plans for where graduates will work after training. Priority fields include cancer, heart disease, stroke, and maternal and child health.

The expansion creates more opportunities to train, but officials emphasised that additional programmes alone are not the final measure of success. The aim is to get qualified specialists to communities that need them, while maintaining education standards and patient safety.