Jakarta, 13 October 2025

The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia has officially launched the Indonesia Healthcare AI Hackathon 2025, the first innovation event focused on the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in the healthcare sector. This initiative aims to strengthen the national health system through smart and collaborative solutions, while accelerating the transformation toward more effective, efficient, and inclusive healthcare services.

The hackathon is organized through a collaboration between the Ministry of Health and PwC Indonesia as the Exclusive Knowledge Partner, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) as the Exclusive Technology Partner, with additional support from East Ventures, BGI Genomics, and MGI. This cross-sector synergy marks a significant milestone in building a sustainable and globally competitive health innovation ecosystem.

Deputy Minister of Health, Prof. Dante Saksono Harbuwono, who inaugurated the event, emphasized that the role of AI is to empower and support medical professionals—not to replace them.

“Recently, Bill Gates stated that AI will replace doctors within ten years. That sounds controversial. But let’s be honest—how many of us search for symptoms or medications online when we feel unwell? It used to be difficult to separate facts from misinformation. Now, with AI assistance, we can access more accurate and reliable health information. So, is Bill Gates right? The key isn’t replacement—it’s empowerment,” said Prof. Dante.

In his remarks, Prof. Dante highlighted various global and national challenges in the health sector—from aging populations, shortages of medical personnel, rising service costs, to the threats of non-communicable diseases and climate change. In Indonesia, the disease burden remains high: tuberculosis ranks among the highest in the world, stroke is the leading cause of death, and more than 19 million people live with diabetes.

“To address these challenges, the Ministry of Health has begun building an AI-based future for healthcare. We’ve conducted clinical trials of AI-powered chest X-rays for tuberculosis detection, AI-assisted brain CT scans for stroke diagnosis, launched an AI chatbot for diabetes risk screening, and even developed an AI-based hospital call center that can reduce waiting times by up to 70% and improve patient satisfaction by 35%,” he explained.

According to Prof. Dante, conventional approaches are no longer sufficient to tackle the complexity of health challenges. Indonesia, with over 17,000 islands, requires intelligent solutions that can reach all regions.

“AI opens up vast opportunities to enhance diagnosis, improve prediction accuracy, expand service access, and assist healthcare workers in making better clinical decisions,” he added.

Indonesia Healthcare AI Hackathon 2025 brings together innovators from diverse disciplines—including doctors, AI engineers, academics, researchers, and industry players—to collaborate on developing technological solutions for five priority health issues: tuberculosis, stroke, stunting, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.

Participant enthusiasm is high. From an initial target of 40 teams, the committee received 278 proposals from 10 countries. The top three teams will be selected to proceed to the incubation stage, where their ideas will be developed into real-world solutions with support from funding networks, expert pools, and integration into the Ministry of Health’s MoH Sandbox.

Setiaji, Deputy for Digital Transformation at the Ministry of Health, emphasized that this initiative is a strategic step to strengthen cross-sector collaboration and accelerate AI adoption in healthcare.

“This hackathon is not just about competition—it’s about collaboration and sustainability. We want to ensure that the AI solutions born from this event are not only technologically advanced but also socially relevant, accessible, and empowering to the community,” said Setiaji.

Through this event, the Ministry of Health reaffirms its commitment to positioning Indonesia as a regional hub for technology-driven health innovation in Southeast Asia. This collaborative approach is expected to accelerate the realization of smarter, more efficient, and community-oriented healthcare services.

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This news is released by the Bureau of Communication and Public Information, Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia. For more information, contact Halo Kemenkes via hotline 1500-567, SMS 081281562620, or email [email protected]. (DJ/SK)

Head of the Bureau of Communication and Public Information
Aji Muhawarman, ST, MKM

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