VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The G20's 3rd Health Working Group (HWG) meeting will discuss the issue of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the Indonesian G20 Presidency’s health spokesperson, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, has informed.



"At the 3rd HWG, an additional agenda to discuss AMR, such as various efforts related to the prevention and control of antimicrobial resistance, will be carried out," she revealed at a press conference on “Road to 3rd Health Working Group,” on Thursday.



The HWG is a part of the G20's Sherpa Track, which is focused on global health architecture. The 3rd HWG meeting will be held on August 22–24, 2022, in Bali, and the main issue it will discuss is efforts to increase vaccine production and research networks and manufacturers.



On a separate occasion, YARSI University's post-graduate director, Prof. Tjandra Yoga Aditama, said that antimicrobial resistance is currently a major global problem, and has even been referred to as a “silent epidemic.”



"If there is no adequate effort, the world may enter an era where antimicrobials, including antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals, antiparasitics, and others, will no longer be able to treat infections," Aditama cautioned.



If this is not prevented, he said, it will have a huge impact on human health, as infectious diseases will be uncontrolled.



The 3rd HWG meeting will be divided into four sessions. Other than discussing building a network of researchers and manufacturers for public health emergencies, conversations on efforts to face future pandemics will also take place at the meeting.



The third and last sessions will discuss the government and the private sector's participation in supporting the network, and G20 initiatives in strengthening the research and manufacturing ecosystem to ensure equitable access to vaccines, medicines, and diagnostic tools.



The meeting will be attended by delegates from 19 G20 member states and non-G20 guests. In addition, five regional representative countries, such as Fiji, Congo, Cambodia, Rwanda, and Belize, as well as 14 related international organizations have been invited to the meeting. (Antaranews)

The World Health Organization (WHO) has not yet released any official statement on treating COVID-19 like ordinary influenza, Health Ministry Spokesperson Mohammad Syahril has said.

“The WHO has already declared (COVID-19 a) pandemic. To this day, there has not been any statement concerning pandemic revocation," he noted during the “Road to 3rd Health Working Group (HWG)” virtual press conference on Zoom on Thursday.

He made the statement in response to news reports that Thailand is preparing to treat COVID-19 like ordinary influenza starting October 2022.

This is a matter of policy, which is up to each country, Syahril informed.

"This is based on the consideration of each country and in accordance with the condition of these countries," he added.

Indonesia, on its part, is still being careful in implementing COVID-19 handling policies, including health protocol relaxations.

Further, periodic COVID-19 handling evaluation is being done through collective discussions with experts as well as ministries and institutions.

"Indonesia is being careful and being gradual," he remarked.

An example of this carefulness is when the country allowed mask relaxation outdoors but revoked its decision within a month, mandating masks for both outdoor and indoor activities, he highlighted.

According to Syahril, the self-isolation policy for COVID patients with mild symptoms has continued to help stem the transmission rate.

"Self-isolation reduces transmission. Developed countries are also still carrying out self-isolation, like the United States. If you are positive, then you are not allowed to leave the isolation room for five to seven days," he noted.

During the event, an epidemiologist from the University of Indonesia, Pandu Riono, said that Indonesia does not need to mimic other countries' policies in responding to the pandemic. (antaranews)

The challenges to building digital literacy among micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Papua and West Papua to encourage them to enter the digital ecosystem have been gradually overcome, the Communication and Informatics Ministry said.

One of the efforts to increase the digital literacy of business players is involving local youths to volunteer in implementing the Proud of Indonesia-made Products Movement (Gernas BBI), which will be held in Papua in August 2022.

"I had a (talk) previously with them (the volunteers), they are great. They care (about the issue) and they are willing to (help). I do not think it can be found in other regions – the young people in Papua are very enthusiastic to volunteer in developing the MSMEs," Director General of Public Information and Communication at the ministry Usman Kansong said during a virtual discussion on the development of MSMEs in Papua, which was followed from here on Thursday.

Currently, the challenge faced by the ministry in developing MSMEs in the region is the provision of adequate digital infrastructure.

Hence, the government is targeting to build 2,765 4G base transceiver stations (BTS) in Papua and West Papua regions during 2021–2022 so that small business actors in the regions can enter e-commerce.

In addition to digital infrastructure, the ministry is also providing digital literacy training on online businesses to prepare local human resources, in collaboration with the Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Ministry and Bank Indonesia.

"We implement the cooperation, thus after the infrastructure has been established and the human resources have been (made) capable (of conducting online businesses), the (MSME) products can be sold not only to Java regions, but to foreign countries as well," Kansong remarked.

On the same occasion, Assistant Deputy for Information Technology Development and Business Incubation at the Cooperatives and SMEs Ministry, Christina Agustin, said that her party was focused on encouraging the digitization of MSMEs and increasing the number of startups through various business incubator institutions in Papua.

"We are targeting all regions in Papua, considering that Papua and West Papua are our priorities in our efforts to increase human resource capacity and digital literacy, thus we are working together in various sectors to succeed the Gernas BBI," she added. (Antaranews)

The Indonesian Defense Force (TNI) is seeking to strengthen military cooperation with the European Union (EU) through the exchange of maritime information via the Indo-Pacific Regional Information Sharing (IORIS) platform.

“Mr. Sylvian (EU military adviser Colonel Sylvain Louvet) has prepared materials for discussion on CRIMARIO (Critical Maritime Routes on the Indian Ocean). I will invite all who must be involved in it. Starting this year, I myself am ready," TNI chief General Andika Perkasa said during a meeting with Louvet, which was followed on the TNI chief’s YouTube channel  on Thursday.

CRIMARIO is an EU-funded project which focuses on maritime affairs. It uses the IORIS platform to share maritime information, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.

Exchange of maritime information is expected to benefit Indonesia's security and defense.

General Perkasa warmly welcomed the cooperation and said he hoped it would offer opportunities to TNI soldiers to interact with representatives of European countries as well as exchange knowledge and share experiences.

"Cooperation with the European Union provides wider opportunities to TNI soldiers to interact with (representatives from) European countries to share knowledge and improve capability," he said.

Meanwhile, other programs that will involve Indonesia include crisis management, cyber defense, and counter-terrorism, Colonel Louvel informed.

"There are four fields, including maritime security, cybersecurity, crisis management, and counter-terrorism," he added.

The next meeting related to the cooperation will discuss details of programs on the maritime information exchange platform and cyber defense cooperation as a manifestation of concrete cooperation between Indonesia and the EU. (Antaranews)