Wamena, Jubi – The Jayawijaya branch of the Indonesian Midwives Association (IBI) is facing a challenge as they have only 150 midwives available to serve the population of 328 villages and 40 districts in Jayawijaya.

This issue was highlighted by Anita Ariance Ribka Imbiri, the head of the IBI Jayawijaya, during the celebration of the 72nd IBI Anniversary at the Betlehem Church Wamena on July 1, 2023.

"We hope that the local government will address this situation by recruiting midwives through Government Employees with Work Agreements programs," Imbiri said.

Currently, not all 150 midwives in the region are civil servants, some of them even work as contract employees and some others pursue careers in the private sector. These midwives are primarily assigned to Wamena General Hospital and several clinics in the city and districts.

Imbiri emphasized that ideally, each village should have at least one midwife, and Jayawijaya Regency would require a minimum of 400 midwives to adequately serve the community's healthcare needs.

She also expressed the need for the local government to establish a health education school specifically for the residents of Jayawijaya. This would ensure that after completing their education, healthcare professionals could be assigned to their respective villages to provide necessary healthcare services.

Assistant I of Jayawijaya Regency Tinggal Wusono acknowledged that the ratio of midwives to the population in Jayawijaya was not ideal. The local government is proposing the implementation of Government Employees with Work Agreements and planning for additional staffing to address this issue in the future. (*)

Source: https://en.jubi.id/jayawijaya-struggles-with-shortage-of-midwives