JAYAPURA — Papua Vice Governor Aryoko Rumaropen reaffirmed the Papua Provincial Government's commitment to strengthening collaboration with Cenderawasih University to improve the quality and sustainability of professional medical education in Papua.

"We must prepare Papuan children themselves to become qualified doctors. We cannot continue to rely on medical personnel from outside the region. Therefore, every stage of education, including the completion of administrative matters for clinical clerkship students, must be ensured to be completed and run optimally," the Vice Governor stressed during a coordination meeting with the Faculty of Medicine and the management of teaching hospitals in Jayapura on Friday (13/2/2026).

The Vice Governor also emphasized the important role of senior doctors and academics in mentoring young Papuan doctors to achieve self-reliant healthcare services based on local sons and daughters of the region.

Under the new cooperation scheme, Dok II Hospital in Jayapura will remain the main teaching hospital, focused on developing postgraduate and specialist programs, while Abepura Hospital has been designated as the center for the implementation of the professional medical education program (clinical clerkship) under a new curriculum.

As a concrete step, the Papua Provincial Government and Cenderawasih University will launch an anaesthesiology specialist education program on February 27, 2026, which will be inaugurated directly by the Governor of Papua together with the Rector of Cenderawasih University.

Meanwhile, the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Inneke Viviane Sumolang, stated that her institution is ready to continue improving the quality of medical education through strengthening the role of partner hospitals and developing specialist programs. ***