Indonesia's Midwife and MNCH Workforce (UNFPA)

Executive summary

This UNFPA report maps Indonesia's maternal and newborn health workforce, with a focus on midwives, across production, quantity, distribution, quality, and well-being, and links them to outcomes such as maternal mortality and contraceptive use. It documents extreme geographic inequality and assesses distribution with Gini and Theil indices, spatial and travel-time analysis, and an ageing-workforce lens.

Questions this report answers

• How unequal is Indonesia's midwife and MNCH workforce across districts?
• Where are the density gaps widest, and where is supply concentrated?
• How do workforce density and distribution link to maternal and reproductive-health outcomes?

Key findings

• District MNCH health-worker density ranges enormously, from 0.006 per 1,000 population in Katingan (Kalimantan Tengah) to 8.21 per 1,000 in Kota Banda Aceh.
• Many of the lowest-density districts are in Papua, including Puncak Jaya, Intan Jaya, Yahukimo, and Nduga, while the highest concentrate in Aceh.
• The analytical framework covers production, quantity, distribution, quality, and well-being, linked to outcomes including maternal mortality and the modern contraceptive prevalence rate.
• Distribution is assessed with Gini and Theil indices, spatial and travel-time analysis, alongside an analysis of an ageing midwife workforce.