Synopsis
World Health Organization is supporting Indonesia’s nursing workforce by promoting evidence-based education and training. The program aims to enhance clinical competence, research understanding, and decision-making skills among nurses, improving overall healthcare quality and patient outcomes across Indonesia’s health system.
Indonesia is continuing its efforts to strengthen a more balanced and future-ready nursing system while addressing persistent disparities in training quality, workforce distribution, and professional development across regions. Although the country maintains a relatively strong supply of nurses, challenges remain in aligning skills, education standards, and deployment with evolving health system needs. These priorities are central to improving the Indonesia nursing workforce, deepening WHO Indonesia collaboration, and strengthening the nursing education system to support long-term national health goals.
To support evidence-based reforms, the World Health Organization and the Ministry of Health facilitated the dissemination of the State of the World’s Nursing 2025 in Surabaya, bringing together key stakeholders from across the health sector. The policy dialogue created a platform for educators, policymakers, and practitioners to examine global and national insights on workforce development and system readiness. Discussions emphasized policy dialogue nursing workforce, health workforce trends, and strategic reforms needed to ensure a resilient nursing ecosystem.
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A major highlight of the initiative was the launch and symbolic handover of the Nursing Clinical Instructor curriculum at Poltekkes Kemenkes Surabaya, reinforcing Indonesia’s commitment to improving clinical education quality. The curriculum, developed with technical guidance from the World Health Organization, aligns with global benchmarks in clinical teaching and competency-based learning approaches. It also strengthens clinical teaching standards, supports the WHO Collaborating Centre, and enhances structured mentorship for nursing students in real-world healthcare environments.
The program also reinforced the importance of equitable healthcare access by improving how nurses are trained, deployed, and supported across diverse regions of Indonesia. Stronger alignment with universal health coverage and primary health care objectives ensures that nursing services contribute directly to reducing health disparities and improving community outcomes. These efforts are closely tied to improving nursing workforce distribution, ensuring that skilled professionals are available where they are needed most in both rural and urban settings.
Overall, the initiative reflects a broader national push toward long-term transformation in nursing systems through coordinated planning, education reform, and workforce strengthening strategies. Continued collaboration between the World Health Organization, the Ministry of Health, and academic institutions is expected to accelerate health workforce planning Indonesia while advancing nursing capacity building across all levels of care. These reforms collectively support clinical education reform, ensuring Indonesia develops a competent, adaptable, and future-ready nursing workforce.
