Thammasat University students interested in ASEAN studies, Indonesia, allies health sciences, political science, sociology, international relations, and related subjects may find it useful to participate in a free 4 June Zoom webinar on Indonesia’s Health Sector Reform: Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities.
The event, on Tuesday, 4 June 2024 at 1pm Bangkok time, is presented by ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore.
The TU Library collection includes several books about the Indonesian health sector.
As explained on the event website,
About the Webinar
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the limitations of Indonesia’s healthcare system. Since then, healthcare has become a national priority, leading to increased budget allocation and efforts to reform the sector.
In 2023, the government passed a new Health Law as part of a major transformation of the national healthcare system. The new Law aims to simplify, consolidate, and improve upon existing laws, including the Medical Practice Law, the Hospitals Law, and the Health Workers Law.
While there has been some progress, though limited, following the provision of the new Health Law, there have been some challenges and resistance from various stakeholders. In this webinar, an Indonesian health policy expert will discuss the progress and challenges faced by the government as it continues to reform Indonesia’s healthcare system. He will also talk about what additional implementing regulations are needed to tackle the issues faced by Indonesia’s healthcare system and how Indonesia can collaborate with other countries in expediting its health sector development.
About the Speaker
Professor Laksono Trisnantoro is the director of health policy and management for the Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing at Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia. […]
Students are invited to register at this link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/3017162766964/WN_LbqREII6Q6Kn0-wK9QVHIA#/registration
In 2020 Dr. Laksono Trisnantoro coauthored Indonesia Charts an Innovative Path on COVID-19 Vaccination, an article for Think Global Health, an online bulletin that examines the ways in which changes in health are reshaping economies, societies, and the everyday lives of people around the globe. An excerpt:
Indonesia is rolling out a vaccination campaign unlike anywhere else in the world. Whereas the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union are prioritizing elderly and at-risk populations, Indonesia is bumping healthy, working-age people to the head of the queue. The delivery of vaccines appears to be imminent, but the scientific and regulatory communities must ensure the vaccines’ safety and efficacy. While Indonesians wait for this work to be completed, the country sits at a crossroads in its struggle to contain one of the largest COVID-19 outbreaks in Asia.
The virus has hit Indonesia hard. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) projects that Indonesia will see more than 35,800 cumulative deaths by April 1, 2021. At the current rate, Indonesia will remain one of the twenty countries hit hardest by COVID-19. However, even the most aggressive vaccine rollout will not dramatically redirect the curve during the first quarter of 2021. The virus is currently circulating in the community while Indonesia’s ambitious vaccination program is waiting in the wings. This underscores the importance of basic public health and safety measures, especially masks and social distancing, while the logistics are ironed out and vaccines await approval. About 5,000 lives could be saved by the end of March if 95 percent of the population—on par with the highest global rate observed in Singapore—wears a mask in public. Indonesia’s current estimated mask-use rate is 76 percent.
As the outbreak-to-immunization narrative unfolds, the world should keep its eyes on Indonesia. The country has featured centrally in the global vaccine race. It is one of the first countries to receive and test a vaccine from a Chinese biopharmaceutical company, Sinovac. CoronaVac, the name of Sinovac’s vaccine, is being considered for emergency approval by Indonesian regulators, but they are awaiting data from phase III trials before deciding. Indonesia has already received 1.2 million doses of Sinovac’s vaccine, and the national government in Jakarta is expecting 1.8 million more next month. However, assuming CoronaVac is safe and effective, the vaccination program cannot begin until the use of the product is authorized. Indonesia is finalizing deals with Pfizer and AstroZeneca for coronavirus vaccines for an additional total of 100 million doses, but these deliveries will not arrive until well into 2021. To reach their goal of securing enough doses for the entire population, Indonesian officials are also working with COVAX, an international vaccine organization.
These are all promising developments, but mass inoculation takes time. There are production and logistical challenges to overcome. Indonesia, an archipelago nation of more than 17,000 islands and 270 million people (the fourth most populous country in the world), must figure out how to deliver and store doses. Public health experts must also contend with vaccine hesistancy and misinformation. Religious leaders have voiced concerns about whether the vaccines are made in accordance with Islamic law. Nevertheless, the groundwork for a successful vaccination campaign is being laid. President Joko Widodo has pledged to make the vaccine free and accessible to all Indonesians. He will also be the first person in the country to be injected with a dose to demonstrate to the nation the safety and efficacy of any approved vaccines.
When the vaccination campaign launches, Indonesia will be taking a different approach than most other countries. In addition to frontline medical workers and public servants (such as police officers), Indonesian health officials are targeting working-age populations between 18 and 59. This decision was borne partly out of necessity—doses may be in short supply—but also reflects inventive thinking since this age-band, Indonesian officials observe, is more mobile and exposed. There are clear economic incentives to inoculate working-age people too. In any case, it will take time to ramp up vaccine delivery, especially in a diverse, populous, archipelagic nation like Indonesia. Once the vaccines are approved, production increased, and doses delivered, the benefits will no doubt be transformative.
While Indonesia waits for safe, effective vaccines to make inroads against the virus, widespread mask use and social distancing measures remain the best lifesaving tools to curb the epidemic. Until mass inoculations are undertaken, interventions like masks remain essential. Indeed, there is a scientific consensus that face coverings are quite effective at stopping respiratory viral transmissions in community settings. Masks are also a simple and low-cost intervention and thus especially practical for populations in a low- and-middle-income country like Indonesia. […]
While it is important to get the initial response right, it is equally important to effectively plan for and manage the post-peak recovery. The virus has inflicted significant economic damage. Indonesia’s economy was humming before the pandemic hit. Unemployment has skyrocketed. The central government has made efforts to stanch the economic bleeding and pull the country out of its first recession since the 1988 Asian financial crisis. President Widodo established the Committee of COVID-19 Control and Economic Recovery. About $50 billion has been allocated for virus relief programs, but much funding remains tied up. Indonesia’s legislative branch also passed an omnibus bill, a sweeping reform package meant to spur investment and accelerate economic recovery, but it has been met with mass public demonstrations. […]
Indonesia has confronted significant health crises and challenges before—the Indian Ocean tsunami, Aceh earthquake, and the road to universal health care. An effective public health response to COVID-19 that is guided by the best available evidence and a smart vaccine policy will help the country mitigate the worst of the pandemic. The future of the pandemic in Indonesia is yet to be written.
(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)