VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

FILE PHOTO: Paris mayoral candidate Agnes Buzyn delivers a speech after the forecasts for the results of the municipal elections at her campaign headquarters in Paris, France, March 15, 2020. Julien De Rosa/Pool via REUTERS - 

Former French Health Minister Agnes Buzyn has been put under formal investigation over her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, reported BFM TV and Agence France Presse on Friday (Sep 10).

The development marks one of first cases worldwide where a leading public sector official has been held legally accountable for the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Buzyn, health minister from May 2017 to February 2020, had to step down at the start of the pandemic under pressure from President Emmanuel Macron to replace Benjamin Griveaux, the LREM party candidate for Mayor of Paris who was forced to withdraw after a sex-tape scandal.

She lost her bid for the Paris city hall and ended up being appointed in January to the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva, in charge of monitoring multilateral issues//CNA

President Joko Widodo meeting Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X and Yogyakarta Regional Leadership Coordination Forum at the Kepatihan Office, Yogyakarta on Friday. (ANTARA FOTO/Luqman Hakim/my) - 

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) called on Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X to speed up the COVID-19 vaccination rate in his region.

"There is no set target. (The president) only requests to speed up the vaccination rate, so we must increase it," the Yogyakarta governor remarked after meeting President Jokowi at Gedhong Pracimasana, Kepatihan Complex, here on Friday.

The governor called to accelerate inoculation by pushing mass vaccination programs in Yogyakarta, covering at least 20 thousand people per day. Currently, they only administer vaccines to some 11 thousand residents per day.

"As long as it cannot be done like that (targeting 20 thousand people per day), it will not necessarily be accomplished by the end of this year, if it is only 11 thousand (per day)," he remarked.

Hamengku Buwono X targets an 80-percent vaccination rate in the region by October 2021. However, currently, the vaccination rate in Yogyakarta has only reached 66 percent.

"In October 2021, administration of the first dose was completed, and there will only be the second (dose). However, the important aspect is that after the first dose (of the vaccine), the community already has immunity," Hamengku Buwono X remarked.

He revealed that vaccination in Yogyakarta was not constrained by stocks, but rather, realization at the district level.

"Provinces are just stockpiles. District and cities are doing it. The important aspect is that districts and cities are diligently (administering) vaccines," he added.

Based on the Yogyakarta Regional Government's data, the vaccination rate in Yogyakarta as per September 9, 2021, indicates that 66.42 percent of the total targeted 2,879,699 had received the first vaccination dose, while the second dose was only given to 29.71 percent.

In addition to pressing for expedited vaccinations, President Jokowi reminded the heads of districts and mayors that the opening of community activities in Yogyakarta should be conducted in stages, so that the number of COVID-19 cases do not spike again, the Yogyakarta governor noted.

"Do not open it up and then let (the cases) increase up again. Be careful because it is steep enough, so you will open it gradually and carefully. However, vaccinations must be conducted as much as possible despite only being the first dose," the governor noted.

President Jokowi met with the Yogyakarta governor and the Yogyakarta Regional Leadership Coordination Forum at the Kepatihan Office after observing the mass vaccination at the Jogja Expo Center (JEC) and COVID-19 vaccinations for students at special schools in Bantul District.

According to Secretary of Yogyakarta, Kadarmanta Baskara Aji, after meeting with the Yogyakarta Forkopimda, President Jokowi was scheduled to hold Friday prayers at Gedung Agung and then visit the Muhammadiyah Muallimin Madrasah, Bantul District//ANT

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan - 

The number of daily COVID-19 cases in Indonesia is expected to remain between three thousand and seven thousand in the coming days, according to Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.

The enforcement of people's movement restrictions (PPKM) by the government has managed to lower the COVID-19 composite index by more than 20 percent in Java-Bali, Pandjaitan, who is also the PPKM coordinator, informed in a press release issued here on Friday.

The number of daily cases on Thursday showed an 88.1-percent decline compared to July 15, 2021, he said.

According to the minister, the virus that causes COVID-19 is expected to linger and become endemic, as medicines or vaccines with 100-percent efficacy against COVID-19 are not available so far.

Hence, for handling the COVID-19 pandemic, Indonesia will continue to accelerate the vaccination program, enforce health protocols involving the 3Ms (wearing face masks, keeping safe distance, and washing hands with soap), conduct the 3Ts (testing, tracing, and treatment), and establish centralized isolation centers, he said.

The government has also developed a COVID-19 tracing application called PeduliLindung (CareProtect) for screening, tracing, and health protocol implementation, he noted.

"Indonesia ranks sixth in the world on the number of people who have been vaccinated and total injections. The daily vaccination rate is targeted at more than 2 million per day and vaccination coverage for agglomeration areas and big cities is targeted to reach 70 percent this September (2021). We do not have a shortage of vaccines," he said.

He then lauded the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) and the Indonesian Police (Polri) for their assistance in COVID-19 handling, particularly in enforcing the 3M and 3T implementation, which is crucial to break the chain of virus transmission.

Pandjaitan said he is optimistic that the success of the pandemic handling would help boost economic recovery.

"Indonesia's competitiveness, including in terms of investment, depends on our success in controlling the pandemic. The sooner we succeed in controlling the pandemic, the better the country's investment competitiveness and attractiveness will be," he added//ANT

Minister of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection, Bintang Puspayoga. ANTARA/HO- Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry - 

Women's empowerment and gender equality are the government's priorities in efforts towards national development, Minister of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection, Bintang Puspayoga, has emphasized.

"Women are part of the five priority issues directed by President Joko Widodo, namely increasing women's empowerment in entrepreneurship, increasing the role of mothers in children's education, reducing violence against women and children, reducing child labor, and preventing child marriage," she said in a press statement here on Friday.

She made the statement at the Coordination Meeting for the Preparation of Constructive Dialogue with the CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women) Committee, held by the Ministry of Law and Human Rights in collaboration with the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jakarta.

Indonesia is committed to protecting women's rights, especially to eliminating all forms of discrimination against women, as stated in the Constitution and various laws, Puspayoga said.

Gender mainstreaming strategies have been integrated into short, medium, and long-term national development plans, she pointed out.

Indonesia has also included women as one of the priority groups in the National Action Plan for Human Rights 2021-2025, she added.

Puspayoga expressed gratitude for the involvement of all stakeholders, especially representatives from the National Human Rights Institute (NHRI) and Civil Society Organizations (CSO).

Amid the challenges of the global pandemic, the government is committed to fulfilling and providing protections for women's and girls' rights, she stressed.

"During the COVID-19 pandemic, the government continues to provide and encourage efforts to fulfill and protect the rights of women and girls. The government continues to guarantee efforts to prevent, control, assist, and provide access to services for women and children through various policies that favor vulnerable groups," she said//ANT