VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Minister of Health, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, has said he will push the use of digital technology for developing health services, and particularly for integrating health data available across platforms.

He said he got the idea after studying how US biotechnology startups are creating new vaccines and drugs using Big Data and the Internet of Things (IoT)

“Big data and IoT will change the landscape of healthcare. Our initiatives can be grouped into several things, first, health data, second, application, and third, the ecosystem," Sadikin informed at the virtual launch of the World Bank Indonesia Digital Report in Jakarta on Thursday.

He said his ministry will seek to integrate data on routine public health checks in hospitals and digital treatment platforms, medicines, and health activities recorded by smartwatches.

"So, what we plan to do from this regulation is to determine how the data that I mentioned earlier can be legally owned by two parties. First, online and offline health facilities such as hospitals or pharmacies, and by the individuals," he elaborated.

According to Sadikin, the government will formulate standard requirements so that the data can be accessed by interested parties.

"So, if people want to go to the doctor, the system can give doctors the right to access data of people stored on watches, pharmacies, and hospitals instantly," he said.

However, the government will seek permission to use the data, he informed. Through this initiative, health workers will have full access to individual health data, he pointed out.

"With this, we can use artificial intelligence to create a security mechanism or sandbox where there are more than 200 million Indonesian people's data," he said.

The data can then be used to determine how the government can improve the quality of public health, Sadikin noted.

“Currently there are 11 telemedicine start-ups that offer remote health consultations. We have identified how they carry out online diagnostics related to user-health risks, which are identified from the results of patient laboratory examinations, as well as conversations via WhatsApp and Facebook," he said. (Antaranews)

State electricity company PT PLN Persero has said it will increase investment directed at renewable-energy power plant construction in anticipation of a fivefold jump in Indonesia's electricity demand by 2060.

“Electricity needs in 2060 will become 1,800 TWh (Terawatt-hour), with an assumption of growth within 4.6 percent. It means there will be (a need to generate an additional) 1,500 TWh (of power) in 2060, or (up) fivefold from this year’s demand of 300 TWh,” said PT PLN's General Vice Director Darmawan Prasodjo, in a statement received here on Thursday.

Hence, the state-owned power company is planning to raise the capacity of renewable-energy power plants to help bridge the anticipated gap between power demand and supply, he disclosed.

PT PLN will ensure several old plants that are still operational are included in the biomass co-firing program, he said.

It will also convert fossil fuel power stations into green energy power plants to reduce the utilization of high-emissions oil and coal, he added.

Furthermore, the company will start to phase out the first generation of steam-electric power stations by 2030, Prasodjo said.

Thus, all of the power stations will be replaced by renewable energy power plants by 2060, he added.

"PT PLN Persero has prepared various mega projects of green energy power station construction to support Indonesia’s energy security and reliability," Prasodjo pointed out.

Although currently, Indonesia is generating excess power, PT PLN is committed to accelerating the fusion of renewable energy, in accordance with the government’s plan, he stated.

However, it is still considering the current supply and demand state to manage the oversupply, he added.

This situation has burdened the company’s financial accounts, he said, as PT PLN Persero has to pay for the electricity provided by third parties even if it is only used partially.

“The government has instructed us (PT PLN Persero) to pay for all the electricity produced by the third party. Hence, we have to be careful in calculating and allocating the electricity supply so it will not worsen our finances,” Prasodjo said. (Antaranews)

Healthcare workers in Mimika district, Papua province mourned the death of a nurse due to COVID-19 on Thursday.

The nurse, Puput Putriani, worked at the Kwamki Public Health Center in Timika, the capital of Mimika district.

Putriani, who was pregnant, contracted COVID-19 at her workplace and was admitted to Mimika Public Hospital on Wednesday, head of the Mimika Health Office, Reynold Ubra, said.

"We all are mourning her passing," he said, adding that all healthcare workers have been fighting to save the lives of COVID-19 patients.

Therefore, people who intentionally create and circulate videos to share their skepticism of COVID-19, despite the fact that many families have lost their loved ones to the disease, are deplorable, he remarked.

Two healthcare workers have died of COVID-19 since the pandemic hit Mimika on March 25, 2020 while the district's infection rate has been recorded at 8,398 as of July 28, 2021, Ubra informed.

At least 117 of the 8,398 COVID-19 patients have died, with the peak of deaths occurring in July this year, he added.

The Mimika COVID-19 Task Force recorded 57 deaths between July 1 and July 28, or equal to 5.5 deaths per day, he pointed out.

On July 21, 2021, Mimika district head Eltinus Omaleng had said that the situation in Mimika had become alarming with COVID-19 deaths recording a sharp spike over a period of two weeks.

As a result, the growth in the number of new cases was significant, the bed occupancy at isolation rooms was almost full, and oxygen supplies were running out, he added.​​​​​​​

Papua's COVID-19 task force recently disclosed that 18 cities and districts across the province have been affected by the recent wave of infections.

Six of the affected areas are located in mountainous regions in the districts of Jayawijaya, Lanny Jaya, Tolikara, Pegunungan Bintang, Paniai, and Puncak Jaya.

The 12 other affected regions comprise Jayapura City and the districts of Jayapura, Merauke, Boven Digul, Asmat, Mappi, Mimika, Biak Numfor, Supiori, Kepulauan Yapen, Nabire, and Keerom. (Antaranews)

The Indonesian government has appealed to the public to not worry about the availability of COVID-19 vaccine stocks, assuring it has secured 440 million doses until the end of 2021.


"Yesterday (July 27, 2021), Indonesia received 21 million doses of Sinovac vaccines in bulk form, which increased the country's COVID-19 vaccine stock to more than 170 million doses in bulk form and finished goods," government spokesperson for COVID-19 handling and behavior change ambassador, Reisa Broto Asmoro, said here on Wednesday.


State-owned pharmaceutical firm Bio Farma has processed a total of 144.7 million vaccines in bulk form into 117 million doses of finished vaccines, she added.


As of Tuesday (July 27, 2021), nearly 64.4 million out of the targeted 208.2 million vaccines have been administered, with at least 45.5 million people, or 21.9 percent of the targeted recipients, receiving their first jab, and 18.9 million receiving their second jab, she informed.


"(For) Creating herd immunity (there) is a long way to go. It is ladies and gentlemen who can shortcut the way. Vaccinate yourself soon. Let us bring families, neighbors, and colleagues to COVID-19 vaccination centers to protect ourselves and our families," she urged.


Asmoro also assured that the government has augmented drug stocks, oxygen supplies, the number of health workers, and beds for COVID-19 patients as a precautionary measure to face a possible wave of COVID-19 cases.


The bed occupancy rate in hospitals has declined, with the number of hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients falling to 82 thousand from 92 thousand in the past week, she said. (Antaranews)