Jakarta — President Prabowo Subianto announced a plan to build 500 high-quality hospitals across Indonesia by 2029, a move he said is essential to strengthening the nation’s healthcare system and ensuring access for all citizens.

“My target is that within the next four years, we must build 500 hospitals in every district, all of very high quality,” Prabowo said during the inauguration of the Integrated Service Building and the National Neuroscience Institute at Mahar Mardjono National Brain Center Hospital in East Jakarta on Tuesday (Aug. 26).

The president stressed that having quality healthcare facilities is a crucial factor in saving patients’ lives, particularly in cases of critical illness such as stroke. He emphasized that delayed treatment can have fatal consequences.

“As was mentioned earlier, for stroke patients the ‘golden window’ is three hours. If treatment is received within that time, patients can recover and return to an active life. But if it goes beyond five hours, the therapy becomes longer, and the patient may end up being a burden for the family,” he said.

Prabowo expressed confidence that with strong political will from the health minister and other government agencies, the ambitious plan to build 500 hospitals can be achieved.

“We must be able to do this. First and foremost, it takes willpower. If we have the determination in our hearts, God willing, we will achieve it,” he said.

On the same occasion, Prabowo reiterated that education and healthcare are the truest manifestations of democracy in a nation. He stressed that every citizen deserves the best services in these two areas, which he described as key to achieving prosperity.

“Education and health are the real embodiment of democracy. A nation succeeds in democracy when it can provide the best education and the best healthcare,” Prabowo said.