BPJS Kesehatan Recognized Globally, Earns Nobel Peace Prize Nomination for Promoting Solidarity
Key Takeaways
|
JAKARTA, Investortrust.id — Indonesia’s National Health Insurance Agency, BPJS Kesehatan, has been nominated for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for its success in implementing the principle of gotong royong, or mutual cooperation, in providing equitable access to health services and fostering social peace and stability across the nation.
Although it did not win, the recognition highlights Indonesia’s remarkable achievement in building a universal health system grounded in collective solidarity, an effort that has transformed the nation’s approach to public welfare in just over a decade.
BPJS Kesehatan President Director Ali Ghufron Mukti said that the principle of gotong royong has become the moral and operational foundation of Indonesia’s health insurance system, enabling citizens to support one another regardless of social or economic background.
“There was a saying before, ‘it’s forbidden for the poor to fall sick.’ We have changed that to, ‘for the poor, if they fall sick, it’s forbidden to pay,’ as long as they are active BPJS members,” Ghufron said during an online forum on Monday evening.
He emphasized that Indonesia has achieved Universal Health Coverage, or UHC, in only 10 years—a feat that took far longer in advanced economies. “Germany needed 127 years to cover 85 percent of its population, while Indonesia did it within a decade,” Ghufron noted.
The achievement has drawn praise from Professor Mike Hardy of the Centre for Peace and Security at Coventry University in the United Kingdom, who said BPJS Kesehatan’s inclusive model deserves its place among Nobel Peace Prize nominees.
“Indonesia’s experience shows how a form of soft power rooted in solidarity can create social peace,” Hardy said. “BPJS has succeeded in building public trust. When people believe that their government stands by them, peace follows.”
He also pointed out that Indonesia currently ranks among the top countries in the Global Flourishing Index by Harvard University, reflecting its focus on citizens’ well-being and happiness rather than mere economic growth.
According to Hardy, BPJS Kesehatan has given Indonesians a profound sense of security and confidence that they will not be abandoned when they fall ill. “This is the true meaning of peace,” he concluded.
BPJS Kesehatan now facilitates over two million health services every day, a sharp increase from just 252,000 when it began operations in 2014, underscoring how deeply the program has transformed access to healthcare in Indonesia.