TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin stated that cardiac health services in Indonesia remain severely limited. Each year, he said, around 6,000 infants die from congenital heart defects.
"Every year there are 12,000 babies in need of congenital heart surgery. But we can only handle about 6,000. So, 6,000 babies die every year," Budi said at the Acceleration Program for Improving Access and Quality of Medical Education event held at the Ministry of Research and Technology building in South Jakarta on Tuesday, July 22, 2025.
Budi explained that these babies could have survived if the necessary surgeries had been performed.
He stressed that the deaths were not due to a lack of medical expertise, but rather a shortage of doctors and inadequate health facilities in many regions.
Budi presented these figures as part of his broader reflection on the challenges facing heart treatment in Indonesia. He also pointed out that heart disease and stroke have now become the leading causes of death in the country, claiming between 750,000 and 900,000 lives annually.
To address the issue, Budi said the Ministry of Health has been working to expand access to cardiac care at the district and city levels since 2022. The effort is particularly aimed at treating heart attacks during the critical eight-hour "golden period."
In 2022, only 43 out of 514 districts and cities had adequate heart services. By mid-2025, the number had grown to 112. Still, Budi acknowledged that many underdeveloped areas have yet to receive even basic cardiac care.
"Even at a hospital owned by the Ministry of Health in Ambon, if someone has a heart attack, we can only pray. Because the access is far. Therefore, we can only pray that they can be saved during the journey," Budi said.
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