In East Timor's national hospital in Dili, an Australian doctor checks the vital signs of an impossibly tiny baby girl, six months old, born prematurely and struggling to breathe through an acute r

Jakarta – Former Timor Leste president Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao has won the Excellence in Public Health Award from the World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia Region for his breakthrough work

Jakarta – Indonesia has more than halved its child mortality rate in the past 25 years, but malnutrition remains a major hurdle, a new Unicef report shows.

Jakarta – A group of children staged a demonstration at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout in Central Jakarta on Friday, calling on President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to protect them and their fellow Indon

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – The latest fatwa from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) declaring the national health insurance (JKN) program to be in violation of sharia law is deemed to be misguid

Bernadette Christina & Randy Fabi, Jakarta – Indonesians are smoking less than before, and that poses a dilemma for a government that faces a budget shortfall as well as rising unemployment and

Jakarta – The government plans to start providing meals at certain state and private elementary schools around the archipelago to fight malnutrition and stunted growth.

Mark Colvin: One of our nearest neighbours, East Timor, is still so poor that many people lack even the most basic access to health care.

Dili – Prime Minister Rui Maria de Araujo thanked the Cuban government and health collaborators for the support offered for over a decade.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – As the government expects more and more people to register for its National Health Insurance (JKN) program, a recent study has predicted a disastrous future for the he

Jakarta – The Indonesian government's main argument against raising the excise level for tobacco is that it will make cigarettes unaffordable for many Indonesians.

Jakarta – The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has said that Papua continues to lag behind in maternal health compared to other areas across Indonesia despite significant improvements in the

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – In a bid to increase company compliance with the National Health Insurance (JKN) program, from July 1, the Healthcare and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan) will

Sita W. Dewi and Dewanti A.

Michael Bachelard – 'In June last year, seven doctors were sent to this town, but five didn't want to come. In September they tried to send another four and all four went back to Jakarta.'

Jakarta – Seventy percent of Indonesian smokers are teenagers, an expert said on Friday.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Around 100 volunteers and social workers have been deployed to distribute free condoms in 180 known areas for sex transactions such as hotels, dormitories, rental roo

Jakarta – More than 30 tobacco brands put advertisements and promote their products in school areas, a survey by NGOs shows.

Dessy Sagita, Jakarta – Anti-tobacco activists have claimed Indonesia is walking away from the fight against nicotine addiction, thanks largely to the current government's reluctance to implement s

An Indonesian organisation, the AIDS Prevention Commission, says that over ten percent of the population of the Papua town of Wamena is infected with HIV/AIDS.

Lauren Razavi – Indonesian healthcare has traditionally been fragmented: private insurance schemes for those who could afford it, basic state provision for the very poorest, and NGOs in specialised

Jakarta – Most city-run water companies across the country have failed to meet national targets for clean water access due to poor planning and management, according to the Supreme Audit Agency (BP

Jakarta – As many as 8.9 million Indonesian children, 37 percent of them, are suffering from stunted growth caused by malnutrition, a humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children an

Devie Kania, Jakarta – A year after its launch on Jan.

Jakarta – The HIV/AIDS Research Center of Atmajaya University has released a study arguing that HIV patients may be stigmatized by local ordinances requiring them to admit their health status to th

Jakarta – The Indonesian Consumer Foundation (YLKI) revealed on Tuesday that the pictorial health warning on more than half of the tobacco product packages it surveyed were covered by excise bands.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Wawa, a two-and-a-half year old girl, looks happy in her smaller-than-average frame.

Jakarta – The Constitutional Court (MK) on Monday delivered a verdict securing the public's right to file complaints with law enforcement authorities over alleged criminal acts committed by doctors

Jayapura, Jubi – Nearly 1,600 people in 16 districts in Papua are suffering from leprosy, said Ary Pongtiku, a consultant of Leprosy and Framboesia in Papua and West Papua in Jayapura last week.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – With the Health Ministry stepping up efforts to reduce tobacco use in the country, Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa has drawn criticism for her decisio

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Activists have lambasted President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo for his lenient approach to tobacco use.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Amid accusations that Indonesia has used faulty data to justify its executions of drug convicts on death row, the National Narcotics Agency, or BNN, suggested a modest decl

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – A petition has been launched calling on President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to ratify the UN's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which was passed to prevent t

Paulina Quintao – Lack of health posts and housing for doctors is preventing health care from reaching remote rural areas according to Deputy Health Minister Natalia de Araujo.

Paulina Quintao – Child Rights Group Representative from Ermera District, Ivonia Martins, believes the Ministry of Social Solidarity (MSS) is failing to control the implementation of the financial

Paulina Quintao – Member of the National Parliament MP Aurelio Freitas claims services at the National Hospital Guido Valadares (HNGV) are delivered too slowly because staff spend too much looking

Jakarta – Experts are warning of the possibility of growing interference by cigarette-industry players at the House of Representatives as a draft of the tobacco affairs bill has been included in th

Jakarta – The Indonesian Consumer Foundation (YLKI) has called for the removal of the draft tobacco affairs bill from the 2015-2019 National Legislation Program (Prolegnas), which is set to be appr

Kennial Caroline Laia, Rahajeng K.H.

Paulina Quintao – In response to accusations the Ministry of Health has no control over public doctors working as private practitioners, Minister of Health Sergio Lobo da Costa said even though thi

Paulina Quintao – Cases of renal failure are on the rise in Timor-Leste with one of the potential causes being the poor quality of water consumed by the Timorese.

Paulina Quintao – Health Ministry Department of Non-infectious Diseases chief Dr Herculano Seixas dos Santos says consultation on draft tobacco control legislation is complete and the laws will be

Paulina Quintao – Breast and cervical cancer sufferers are forced to travel overseas for treatment due to a lack of facilities in Timor-Leste.

Yuli Krisna, Bandung – Like a lot of people in Indonesia, 35-year-old Bayu is suspicious of the government's immunization programs, mostly because of rumors he has heard from social media and relig

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Two recently released studies predict that the government will be unable to achieve universal health coverage by 2019.

Paulina Quintao – Research conducted by Marie Stopes International in the District of Dili and Viqueque has revealed that the dowry system limits the ability of women to access family planning prog

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – It has been a year since the government launched the national health insurance (JKN) program.

Paulina Quintao – The Decolores Del Amor Foundation has urged the government to establish an independent national drugs council to address the issue of drugs within the nation.

Paulina Quintao – Timorese visiting sex workers are neglecting to use condoms to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS.

Paulina Quintao – The government must ban the import of cigarettes into Timor-Leste for the health of its people, says Member of Parliament Eladio Faculto.