Expats moving to Jakarta: healthcare

Jakarta-Expat-Health

Air pollution

It’s bad and unfortunately will not get any better soon. Read more on this topic here. The air quality and lack of green space means that outdoor sports are not really an option in this city.

Drinking water

Water from the tap is not safe to drink in Jakarta. Contaminated food and/or water is not uncommon and unfortunately so are typhoid and dysentery.

In our previous apartment, the management told us the building had a centralized water filtration system but we never quite trusted it. Instead, we relied on bottled water for both cooking and drinking. Some families also choose to install their own reverse osmosis filtration system in their home.

Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes are an issue, particularly for people who live in houses and no amount of mosquito repellent can really protect against them. It is most problematic during rainy season (september – april) which is also when dengue fever cases peak.

Medical care

Foreign doctors cannot practice in Indonesia and there are only few Indonesian doctors with foreign degrees (Dr. Gozali is one of them).

There are however a few clinics with English speaking doctors and what looks like western standard facilities, such as SOS International.

Good practice is a family medicine clinic overseen by a Dutch doctor and is quite popular among expat families.

For serious injuries and illnesses, those who can afford it often choose to go overseas for treatment (ex: Singapore, Kuala Lumpur). This is why many expats prefer insurance products that provide international coverage and potential evacuation.

Vaccination

Are you and your children up to date on vaccination? Hepatitis A, Typhoid, Japanese B Encephalitis, and Rabies are often recommended. Talk to your doctor to find out more.

Many families have a preference for imported vaccines, which can be hard to find in Jakarta. If this is a concern, call your clinic and ask whether the vaccines they have are locally made, or plan shots whenever you travel overseas.

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