Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin highlighted that the country invested US$5million to finance handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the world through the development of vaccines while holding presidency of the G20 Forum.
In a press release received here on Friday morning, the minister noted that investment in the development of a COVID-19 vaccine was managed by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) as a form of partnership between governments and private sectors, with the objective of accelerating vaccine development.
Sadikin noted that apart from its role at CEPI, headquartered in Norway, Indonesia’s investment is supported by the Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunization (GAVI), the World Health Organization (WHO), and UNICEF.
“Thanks to CEPI, GAVI, WHO, and UNICEF, we have succeeded in delivering more than 353 million vaccines to more than 192 million Indonesians in 13 months,” the minister noted during a speech at the Global Pandemic Preparedness Summit in Oslo, Norway, Tuesday. Sadikin remarked that the investment aligned with the spirit shown by Indonesia to create a global health architecture and support for pandemic financing, especially for low- and middle-income countries. “Hence, we believe that we must work together, and Indonesia is ready to commit to CEPI. Our commitment is for the greater good, to leave no one behind, and to better prepare the world to fight the next pandemic from now on,” he affirmed.
The Global Pandemic Preparedness Summit was hosted by CEPI and the UK Government on March 7-8, 2022, in Oslo, Norway. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CEPI initiated various COVID-19 vaccine development programs and allocated them equitably worldwide through COVAX.
In his remarks, Minister Sadikin emphasized the importance of emergency funds in global health funding. These funds can be used for each country to work together to face an unexpected pandemic.
“We want to ensure that these funds can be used for emergency health management, such as vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics,” he noted.
“Now, the world’s citizens are once again urging global leaders to start up and begin running and make a better and healthier world, not only for us but also for our children and grandchildren,” the minister emphasized.
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