Today, Indonesia's maternal mortality rate remains one of the highest in Southeast Asia. Experts closely studying the problem generally conclude that a change in course is needed for Indonesia to make further progress. First, there are questions about whether the government has the ability - or the resources - to actually improve health. Performance and utilization of public health service is on the decline, and the private sector is now the major source of health care in Indonesia. An estimated 30 - 50 percent of newborn deliveries in health facilities now take place in private clinics (as compared to approximately 10 percent a decade ago). Preference or private sector services may be due, in part, to understaffing of public health facilities, and high absenteeism. The government allows "dual practice" whereby civil servant health providers are allowed to establish a private practice outside of official work hours. As a result, experts studies show an average of 40 percent of doctors absent from their public post during work hours.

Overall, per capita spending on health in Indonesia is much lower than other countries in the region, and insurance coverage is extremely limited. Health financing is overwhelmingly private - with individuals paying for around 80 percent of all health outlay, mostly out-of-pocket. Disturbingly, the poor utilize less of publicly-funded health services provided by the state: the poorest 20 percent of the population captures less than 10 percent of total public health subsidies, while the richest fifth captures almost 40 percent. Policy analyst also point to added problems to helath financing caused by scant distributions in health funding among provinces and major inefficiencies in how funds are spent.