VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - The Indonesian Health Ministry has informed that the monkeypox vaccination will currently only be administered to people who have come in close contact with monkeypox patients.

"Vaccination only helps to limit transmission and will only be given to those who are exposed and have had close contact, not to the whole community," director of immunization management at the ministry, Prima Yosephine, said at her office in Jakarta on Tuesday.

This decision has been taken based on the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), under which vaccination is not the main focus of monkeypox mitigation plans, she said.

She said that the government is prioritizing the surveillance of monkeypox, including epidemiological investigations, isolation, and management of the disease.

The Ministry of Health is also collaborating with a number of organizations, which observe the interactions among gay and bisexual communities, in promoting preventive measures, given that six active monkeypox cases in Indonesia have been detected among people of bisexual orientation, Yosephine said.

"We are also carrying out socialization regarding clean and healthy living behavior (PHBS) to them, along with their sexual behavior and safety," she said.

She noted that the ministry is making ceaseless efforts to manage monkeypox, including promotional efforts and close contact tracing.

It is also considering providing additional vaccine doses to other people found to have come in close contact with the patients, she said.

Yosephine also urged the community not to discriminate against victims or homosexual and bisexual communities so that monkeypox management control can be carried out optimally.

According to the WHO, monkeypox is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus. It can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes, and fever.

The number of confirmed cases of monkeypox worldwide has reached 90,618, with a total of 517 deaths reported from 115 countries.

The United States has reported the highest number of cases, while China, Thailand, and Japan are dominating in terms of the cases reported in Asia. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - The import substitution policy is one of the four economic policies aimed at strengthening locally-made products, including those produced by micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), according to Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs Teten Masduki.

"The President has even affirmed that 40 percent of the state budget (APBN) spending will be allocated to purchase domestic products from MSMEs," he said in a statement released on Tuesday.

Through the import substitution policy, Indonesia will no longer need to import products if it can make them to meet domestic needs, Masduki stated.

He also mentioned that products made by foreign companies in Indonesia should have a domestic component level of 40 percent. They are also obligated to partner with local business players.

The second policy to protect local business players is the downstreaming and industrialization of natural resources.

Masduki emphasized that the policy is not only for large-scale business players, but must also involve local MSMEs.

"This policy also prohibits the export of raw mining products; they must be processed domestically to increase added value and create jobs," he said.

The third policy is improving MSMEs' access to financing as the current share of banking credit for MSMEs is only 21 percent, which is far lower when compared to Thailand and Malaysia, where it is already above 40 percent.

Then, the fourth economic policy pertains to digital transformation, which regulates four aspects: platforms for businesses, the flow of imports of consumer goods, the trading system, and the competitiveness of domestic MSME products.

Masduki said that Indonesia should learn from China's strategy in implementing digital transformation policies. China has been able to strengthen its digital economy platforms and prevent foreign platforms from dominating its market.

However, the government policies to protect MSMEs and domestic products from the influx of cheaper products are often seen as anti-innovation and anti-technology, he noted.

"In many countries, technology has been regulated, one of which is related to the transparency of algorithms and data on the platforms," he added. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - Indonesia's Environment and Forestry (KLHK) Ministry shared its experience on developing the Legality and Sustainability Verification System (SVLK) with a delegation from Laos in Jakarta on Monday.

"SVLK, the Indonesian timber legality assurance system, has been key in encouraging better governance in the forestry sector, taking requirements developed by market countries into account," director general of sustainable forest management at the ministry, Agus Justianto, told the delegates from Laos.

Justianto said that SVLK has changed the image of Indonesia's forestry sector and boosted the sector's performance.

According to him, SVLK has helped Indonesia control illegal logging, which was a threat to the forestry sector in the early 2000s. The result has been a reduction in deforestation by more than 75 percent in the past three years.

SVLK has also provided guarantees to the market and increased confidence that the wood products purchased are legal and sourced from sustainably managed forests, he said.

This had an impact on the rapid performance of forestry product exports even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2022, the export value of Indonesian forestry products reached US$14.21 billion, the highest on record. This year, the export value of forestry products reached US$9.61 billion as of September.

SVLK was developed more than a decade ago involving multi-stakeholders ranging from the government, academics, business actors, civil society, and non-governmental organizations.

Its utilization is mandatory from upstream to downstream. To support its implementation, there are Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs), which conduct audits of business units or wood products.

CABs have been carrying out this task after receiving accreditation from the National Accreditation Committee (KAN), based on the ISO17065 international standard, in 2012.

The entire process is monitored by the community and non-governmental organizations, who serve as independent monitors.

According to Justianto, SVLK played an important role in negotiating the Voluntary Partnership Agreement for Law Enforcement, Governance, and Trade (FLEGT-VPA) with the European Union.

The system was recognized as the basis for the issuance of FLEGT licenses to the European Union so that Indonesian wood products would not require to undergo a due diligence process prescribed under the European timber regulation.

"SVLK has now included sustainability aspects in addition to legal aspects. This is a standard that is needed by the global market today," said Justianto.

The latest SVLK developments include improving traceability with geo-location. Other indicators that have also been strengthened in the SVLK transformation are worker welfare and gender issues.

Director general of the Forest Inspection Department of the Laotian Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Khamphone Mounlamai, said that Laos has also developed a timber legality assurance system and hopes to reach a FLEGT-VPA agreement in the near future.

"We want to learn and exchange knowledge from Indonesia about the process," he added.

The Laotian delegation comprised officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Ministry of Trade, provincial government, civil society organizations (CSOs), and business actors.

The delegation's visit to Indonesia was supported by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the German Development Bank (KfW), and the European Forest Institute (EFI).

During the visit, which will end on October 27, 2023, the delegation will hold meetings with the members of several business associations, such as the Association of Indonesian Forest Concessionaires (APHI), the Indonesian Wood Panel Association (Apkindo), and the Pulp and Paper Association Indonesia (APKI).

They will also meet with CABs and independent monitoring network NGOs that have been monitoring SVLK. In addition, they will visit Surabaya and Malang in East Java to see the SVLK implementation process from upstream to downstream. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has asked his ranks to utilize the Socioeconomic Registration (Regsosek) data optimally in order to provide social protection to the community.

He conveyed this during a limited meeting with a number of ministers from the Onward Indonesia Cabinet to discuss Regsosek data management at Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Tuesday.

"Starting from regular social assistance, PKH (Family Hope Program), BPNT (Non-Cash Food Assistance) and subsidies, and social security, all of them will utilize data from the Regsosek. Likewise for community empowerment in labor-intensive activities, micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), human resources development, and also in social convergence," Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, said while issuing a press statement at the Presidential Palace on Tuesday.

He informed that the government will issue a presidential instruction, which will be prepared by data stakeholders, including the Ministry of Finance and the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas).

In the future, the data produced by Regsosek will continue to be updated for social protection programs, he informed.

During the meeting, President Widodo also instructed officials to continue implementing the food aid program, namely, the provision of rice assistance, until December 2023.

The government will also implement a policy on value-added tax (VAT) on purchases of houses or property worth under Rp2 billion, Hartarto said.

"The government will fully cover VAT on property purchases under Rp2 billion until June next year, and will cover 50 percent of the VAT after June 2024," he disclosed.

Meanwhile, for low-income communities, the government will also provide administrative assistance, the minister added.

According to Hartarto, administrative assistance costs include Tax on the Acquisition of Land and Building (BPHTB) and other fees amounting to Rp13.3 million.

"The government will contribute Rp4 million for each family until 2024," he said. (Antaranews)