Brain Drain into Brain Gain? A Review of Policies to address the Shortage of Human Resources for Health Indonesia

This capstone is a review of national policies and practices in Indonesia to address human resources for health shortages since 2010. A comprehensive search of peerreviewed and grey literature yielded 65 relevant studies/documents. These were evaluated to assess how well or poorly they align with the WHO Global of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel using an analytical framework developed specifically for the Code. The findings suggest that Indonesia’s policies have been adapted, to address the mobility of health workers, and mechanisms now exist to scale up the production of health workers. However, this review identifies key challenges remaining concerning equitable access, quality of healthcare, and regulation. Recommendations to policy-makers include the need for firmer negotiation of international agreements, stronger rural retention programs, modification of medical education curriculum and admissions criteria, and work with other stakeholders to ensure policy space for health priorities.