The availability and quality of health crisis in West Papua has reached an alarming stage as public hospitals across the region experienced closures, strikes, as well as severe shortages of medical staff and supplies. This crisis is caused by miss-management and chronic failure of government oversight in ensuring the fulfilment of basic basic healthcare services. While the disparities between urban and rural areas with regard of availability, accessibility, quality and adequacy of healthcare is a long-standing issue in the region, it is alarming that recent cases also indicate a growing deterioration of services in the urban areas.
In the city of Nabire, Papua Tengah Province, over 200 health workers at the Nabire General Hospital (RSUD), including doctors, nurses, and midwives, have gone on strike, demanding months of unpaid incentives dating back to late 2024. On 25 March 2025, they submitted a formal notice of demand to the hospital director, threatening to conduct further strikes if their rights remain ignored. The Nabire District Attorney acknowledged receiving reports from the health workers but stated that legal action is pending an internal audit by the inspectorate.
The situation in Nabire worsened on 20 March, as health workers reportedly abandoned the hospital in the afternoon (see photo on top, source: independent HRD), leaving patients without care. A similar situation is unfolding in the Sorong Selatan Regency, where the only general hospital, RSUD Scholoo Keyen Teminabuan, was shut down by staff due to unpaid wages for November and December 2024. Even emergency and maternity services have ceased operations, leaving the entire population without access to critical medical care.
Structural failures and human rights violations
Government responses to these emergencies have been inadequate. In Sorong Selatan, hospital administrators stated that they informed local authorities, but no clear resolution plan has been communicated to them. Calls from the customary council and civil society groups for transparency and intervention have been ignored by the government. The closure of the only referral hospital in the region amounts to a violation of the right to health, protected under Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), to which Indonesia is a party.
In more remote areas like the Syukwo Village in the Tambrauw Regency, the health situation is even more dire. The local auxiliary health post (Pustu Warmandi) has no permanent staff or medicine stock. As a result, villagers have resorted to traditional forms of treatment and must travel long distances by boat to access basic healthcare at the health centre (Puskesmas) in the town of Sausapor. Despite having a functioning health building, all services have been seized due to staffing and supply shortages.
The health crisis is especially acute among internally displaced persons (IDPs) fleeing conflict zones in West Papua. Many displaced children and infants have reportedly died from preventable conditions due to lack of access to basic health services. In January 2025, HRD documented the case of a newborn who died after being denied care at the RSUD Sriwini and Yokagaido in Nabire. These tragedies are becoming more common and expose the deep structural neglect that indigenous Papuans continue to face.
West Papua is in a humanitarian emergency. The failure to pay healthcare workers, ensure steady supply of medication and provide consistent medical services has amounted to a form of structural violence against the Papuan population. Human rights organisations urge the central, including the Ministry of Health, and regional governments in West Papua to:
- Immediately pay all outstanding salaries and incentives to health workers;
- Restore full services at general hospitals in Nabire and Sorong Selatan;
- Ensure the deployment of qualified medical staff to remote and underserved areas;
- Provide emergency medical assistance to IDPs;
- Establish an independent oversight mechanism to monitor the delivery of healthcare services in West Papua.
