Koster pushes faster integration of Usada Bali into health services

Denpasar — Bali Governor Wayan Koster has asked health authorities to speed up the use of Usada Bali, or traditional Balinese medicine, within formal health services, building on earlier regulations and programmes to integrate traditional and modern care.

The most detailed recent description of this policy push comes from a May 2025 report by Balipost, which says Koster instructed an acceleration team to make traditional Balinese treatment methods part of the regional health service system.

He asked the team to coordinate on standard operating procedures, practitioner certification, service and education centres, and deeper research into traditional treatments, with the aim of improving regulation, professional development and evidence on safety and effectiveness.

Key elements of the acceleration plan

According to Balipost, Koster’s instructions included several concrete steps.

• Recording plant species that can be used as ingredients for usada, traditional Balinese herbal medicine.
• Developing special areas for cultivating traditional medicinal plants.
• Compiling an inventory of lontar manuscripts related to usada, which are palm-leaf texts preserving inherited knowledge of Balinese traditional medicine.
• Strengthening a dedicated laboratory for traditional medicine.
• Drafting standard operating procedures, certification mechanisms, and centres for services and education in traditional medicine.

A 2018 report on Koster’s earlier initiatives to preserve Usada Bali outlines similar measures, including a planned Usada park in Bangli, a museum of lontar usada, training institutions for traditional health workers, and a central laboratory to standardise herbal medicines, developed with local universities.

Existing regulations and integration efforts

Koster’s push to accelerate integration builds on provincial regulations already in place.

In his public remarks at the 2022–2027 inauguration of Gotra Pangusada, an association of traditional healers, Koster highlighted Bali Governor Regulation No. 55 of 2019 on Traditional Balinese Health Services and Regional Regulation No. 6 of 2020 on Health Administration as the legal basis for developing traditional services.

He tasked the provincial health office with opening Balinese traditional health services at community health centres, private hospitals and public hospitals, stressing that practice must follow a code of ethics, standardisation and competency testing, with certified practitioners registered before they can offer services.

A provincial government release in 2023 similarly cites Governor Regulation No. 55 of 2019 as a key instrument to promote traditional health services, noting Bali’s rich medicinal plant resources and emphasising Usada Bali as a local health heritage.

Economic and tourism dimensions

Earlier coverage of Koster’s traditional medicine agenda links Usada Bali to broader economic and tourism goals.

Reports in 2018 described plans for cultivating medicinal plants, developing herbal medicine industry chains, and creating research and education hubs with local universities, with the expectation that traditional medicine could offer alternative treatment options and support community income.

More recent reporting indicates work on digital tools to map traditional healers and services through an application known as Situs Bali, intended to integrate traditional health services across facilities and private practices.

What remains unclear

Available reports describe policy directions and planning but do not provide detailed information on funding allocations, timelines for new cultivation zones or laboratories, or the precise schedule for expanded services across public health facilities.

They also do not specify how new research standards will be applied to evaluate traditional treatments, or which institutions will lead future clinical or laboratory studies beyond general references to collaboration with universities and health authorities.

National health law changes, including provisions that allow traditional health services to be delivered in a range of facilities, provide a framework for integration, but local implementation details in Bali have yet to be fully reported.

Sources

• Balipost
• Liputan6
• Government of Bali (baliprov.go.id)
• Radar Bali (Jawapos.com)
• Balinesia.id