Debt Vs Health Budget

Comparing debt payments with the health budget is misleading in two dimensions, namely it seems as if we are in debt only to finance the health budget and our debt increases beyond the increase in the health budget.

KOMPAS/DIDIE SW

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The speech by People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Zulkifli Hasan at the MPR Annual Session at the House of Representatives Building, Aug. 16, saw a response from Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati. The topic of Zulkifli\'s speech that Sri Mulyani was responding to was the problem of Indonesia\'s debt ratio, which was considered unsafe compared to village funds and health budget.

Sri Mulyani\'s response was specifically revealed through her official Facebook account. In her explanation, Sri Mulyani disclosed that the total payment of Indonesia\'s principal debt in 2009 was Rp 117.1 trillion (US$7.86 billion), while the health budget was Rp 25.6 trillion. Therefore, the ratio of the payment of the principal debt and health budget is 4.57 times. In 2018, the payment of principal debt was Rp 396 trillion, while the health budget was Rp 107.4 trillion, or a fall in ratio by 3.68 times. It means that the new ratio has declined 19.4 percent in nine years.