Every six hours, the death of a woman from the complications of pregnancy serves as the most vexing
reminder of Indonesia’s challenges with maternal health (MH). This is incommensurate with
Indonesia’s strong economic development and stature compared with regional peers, especially as
MH is a marker of overall health system performance and affects economic opportunities especially
for the poor. The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is high and progress on improving MH outcomes
has been slow, such that the MH Millennium Development Goal (MDG) has already been missed. This
contrasts starkly with Indonesia’s commendable commitment to improve the coverage and equity of
health services, as there are less than two years before the 2019 target date for the attainment of
universal health coverage under Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional (JKN), Indonesia’s social health
insurance scheme