Robert Go, Jakarta – Every 30 minutes, one Indonesian woman dies while giving birth and out of 100 babies born here, six won't reach the age of five – statistics that show the sorry state of the country's health-care system.

Unfortunately, given its tight financial position, the government is likely to continue allocating only about 2 per cent of its yearly budget to the Health Ministry.

And health-care programmes here would still be dependent for years on aid from foreign donors such as the United States Agency for International Development or the United Nations' various arms.

Ms Wastidar Musbir, head of the Indonesian Midwife Association, said that while maternal and infant mortality rates had declined in recent years, Indonesia's numbers remain the highest in Asia.

"It is a very sad situation. Ninety per cent of births here should be normal births, but many women die because of lack of basic medical monitoring and care," she said.

Most of the deaths can be avoided easily, experts argued. Dr Biran Affandi, chairman of the Indonesian College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, said that 60 per cent of maternal mortality cases occurred after excessive haemorrhaging following childbirth.

He said: "Insufficient pre-natal monitoring, inadequate care during the birth process itself, poor facilities at clinics – all contribute to our inability to deal with health complications that are easily dealt with in other countries."

Part of the problem is that many Indonesian women do not see anything wrong with going to untrained dukuns or witch doctors when they go into labour. Most come from communities where dukuns have traditionally taken care of such issues. Dukuns handle up to 80 per cent of childbirths in remote rural areas.

Another factor is money – dukuns charge less than clinics or trained midwives, and sometimes would accept goods instead of cash in exchange for their services.

The biggest obstacle, however, remains the fact that Jakarta gives a low priority to the well-being of the people, and does not spend enough money in ensuring sufficient health care for all.

Dr Azrul Azwar, director-general for people's health at the Ministry of Health, said: "We already have several motherhood programmes, but yes, these don't reach everyone. The Health Ministry should get a bigger share of the national budget. But frankly, government attention to health remains low. This will continue unless there is a shift in the attitude of government officials."

Some experts already warned that health initiatives would be the first to go as local governments, which are now empowered under the regional-autonomy programme to control fully its expenditure choices, try to make do with their meagre budgets. All this could result in health programmes' greater dependence on foreign money.

Ms Fitri Putjuk, communications adviser for the USAid-funded Siaga maternity programme, said: "We still cannot count on government funding. Most money for these kind of projects came from foreign sources. Indonesia is definitely playing around with its most important asset – the future generations."

Childbirth:

• One woman dies every 30 minutes
• Once every 30 minutes, an Indonesian woman dies while giving birth.
• Out of 100 babies born here, six won't reach the age of five.
• Sixty per cent of maternal mortality cases occurred after excessive haemorrhaging following childbirth.
• Witch doctors or other traditional birth attendants deal with 50 per cent of all childbirths. That figure reaches as high as 80 per cent in remote rural areas.