George Quinn – Since 2004 about 300 Cuban doctors, nurses and medical technicians have been working quietly but effectively in East Timor.

Elly Burhaini Faizal, Jakarta – Siti Chomsatun is one of the loudest critics of medical malpractice Indonesia – despite an allegedly botched operation that left her almost mute.

The Health Ministry has high hopes of eradicating malaria in the country, but says massive deforestation – which pushes parasite-carrying animals toward urban areas – has threatened its

Dessy Sagita – Hadalya, a 32-year-old housewife, puts a lot of faith in antibiotics, believing they can help her recover faster from any disease.

Dessy Sagita – The Health Ministry said on Wednesday that it was preparing programs to fight increasing cases of overnutrition among Indonesian children.

The use of antibiotics has reached an alarming level in Indonesia, fueled by poor diagnosis, ignorance and poor regulation of drugs, experts say.

Nurfika Osman – Tackling waterborne diseases in Indonesia is a question of educating the 30 percent of the population still practicing open defecation, health experts say.

Tan Ee Lyn & Fitri Wulandari – Financial troubles drove Liana into prostitution almost four years ago, but the 30-year-old ex-accountant said she'd had no idea then that unprotected

Ulma Haryanto – Activists have accused the Indonesian government of failing to improve basic health care as it had promised in a United Nations covenant passed in 2005.

Tifa Asrianti, Jakarta – In the absence of competition and thorough supervision, the inadequate number of hospitals in Indonesia is a far cry from those convenient ones in neighboring c

Tifa Asrianti, Jakarta – There is no nationalism when it comes to pain; no distance is too far to travel for a cure when money is not an issue.

Tan Ee Lyn & Fitri Wulandari – Indonesia wants the private sector to build more hospitals and reserve a quarter of the available beds for the poor, as it increases spending on free

How much faith do you have in the scrawls your doctors write when prescribing drugs?

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – More than 250,000 children under the age of five suffers from malnutrition in West Java's impoverished northern coastal regions, an official says.

Jakarta – Excessive infant formula promotion may badly hamper ongoing efforts to boost the six-month-exclusive breastfeeding program needed to protect newborn babies, an activist says.

Zaky Pawas – Police have questioned four security guards from a Bogor hospital after they allegedly dumped a mentally ill man in a field near the North Bogor Police subprecinct station.

Dessy Sagita & Antara – The Health Ministry revealed on Thursday that a proposed ban on tobacco advertising would only be imposed in stages, as agreed upon by drafters of the decree

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – The amount of money inefficiently spent by regional administrations to conduct local elections has led to cuts in spending for education and health services,

Dessy Sagita – While a proposal to install condom dispensers in Malang's red-light districts to help prevent the spread of HIV is laudable, it simply won't work in Indonesia, activists

Jakarta – The National AIDS Prevention Commission (KPA) says the 12 children the commission found living with HIV/AIDS in Jayapura district, Papua, are just the "tip of the iceberg".

Gillian Terzis, Tokyo – Social stigma, cash-strapped NGOs, and moralising politicians are stopping Indonesia taking necessary action to prevent an epidemic.

Nurfika Osman – A medical expert has warned that many Indonesian doctors may be putting major pharmaceutical companies ahead of their patients' well-being when it comes to prescribing d

The success of the family planning program in Situbondo, East Java, is proof that the role of religious leaders in debunking myths surrounding male contraception is important.

Jakarta – Most of the people reporting HIV/AIDS infections in Papua last year were housewives, accounting for 164 individuals, the government says.

Nurfika Osman – Children in half of all Indonesian households don't get enough vitamins or minerals, either because their families can't afford a healthy diet or are ignorant about prop

Jakarta – Indonesia has a higher percentage of young smokers than any other country, but ignorance and a powerful tobacco lobby are making it difficult to stamp out nicotine addiction,

Fitri – Hundreds of children across West Nusa Tenggara continue to suffer from malnutrition in early childhood, the head of the province's health agency said on Sunday.

Camelia Pasandaran, Jakarta – In a bizarre twist to the ongoing legal debate over tobacco's addictive nature, the government contradicted its own law by siding with the country's powerf

Nurfika Osman – Bunga, a 32-year-old housewife from East Jakarta, has used skin-lightening products since 2006.

Jakarta – Indonesia is getting healthier on the whole, but major concerns remain over poor access to healthcare in remote areas and the persistence of several deadly diseases, the lates

Camelia Pasandaran, Jakarta – The government has blamed the increase in HIV/AIDS infections across the country partly on reticence about condom use that is the norm here.

Imung Yuniardi and Yuli Tri Suwarni, Semarang/Bandung - A number of HIV/AIDS activists boycotted on Wednesday the commemoration of the World AIDS Day on Dec.

Tifa Asrianti, Jakarta – Female sex workers are often blamed for the HIV/AIDS epidemic, but in reality many of them become champions of safe sex by encouraging patrons to use condoms, s

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – Scores of Jakarta's youth have adopted a more liberal view of pre-marital sex, confirming findings by the National Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) that t

Rita A. Widiadana – It has been almost 10 years since the Indonesian government imposed Law no.

Tifa Asrianti, Jakarta – Women are not only more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS infection, they also face greater risks of violence and discrimination when they become infected by the deadly vi

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – More than half of the teenagers in Jakarta have had pre-marital sexual intercourse, according to a National Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) survey.

Jakarta – Indonesia's population will jump to 255.6 million people by 2015 if the contraception rate remains constant, a senior demographic researcher says.

Made Arya, Denpasar, Indonesia – About 25 percent of Bali's estimated 8,000 sex workers are infected with HIV, according to the National AIDS Commission.

Jakarta – When the Health Ministry recently pledged to restrict tobacco advertising, it was met by widespread skepticism.

Jakarta – Supporters of tobacco control welcome the Health Ministry's move to issue a new decree to ban tobacco advertising next year.

Jakarta – The fight against HIV/AIDS in Indonesia is precarious since most civil society groups working to prevent the disease rely on foreign funding, a report said Wednesday.

Ismira Lutfia, Nurfika Osman & Ririn Radiawati Kusuma, Jakarta – Activists expressed hope on Sunday that the advertising restrictions on tobacco and formula milk that they had long

Jakarta – Indonesia harbors nearly a third of the world's neglected tropical diseases, despite there being cures for many of them, largely due to poor sanitation and unhealthy living, t

Margie Mason, Oe-cusse enclave, East Timor – If there really was a place so remote it could be called the end of the earth, Adelino Quelo's shabby little hut would be prime real estate.

Nurfika Osman – Nine provinces have huge health problems because of a lack of medical practitioners and prevention efforts, the government says.

Dina Indrasafitri, Jakarta – As it marks World Contraception Day (WCD), Indonesia has to face the disheartening fact that it is lagging behind in its family planning targets and the nat

Anita Rachman, Jakarta – Three lawmakers named by anti-tobacco activists as having been declared suspects by the police over the omission of a clause on tobacco in the 2009 health bill

Dessy Sagita & Farouk Arnaz, Jakarta – Antitobacco activists said on Wednesday that the National Police were lying about three legislators who have been accused of deliberately omit

Dessy Sagita, Farouk Arnaz & Armando Siahaan – Three legislators are suspected of having deliberately omitted a key clause addressing the dangers of tobacco in the health bill, a fo