VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) instructed related ministries and agencies to most favorably conduct nationwide COVID-19 vaccination simulations before the government's first phase of the COVID-19 vaccination program, scheduled in the third week of December 2020.

"I observed a COVID-19 vaccination simulation at the Tanah Sereal Public Health Center in Bogor City on November 18, 2020. It has run well, and I want it to be continued," the president stated at a limited cabinet meeting here, Monday.

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin, the committee members, and ministers partook in the meeting that highlighted the National Committee for Handling COVID-19 Pandemic and Economic Recovery's report.

President Jokowi spoke of his intent to again observe one or two other simulations to ensure that all aspects concerning the vaccination program were thoroughly prepared.

"The most important aspect that I think should be monitored and evaluated pertains to the distribution mechanism of the COVID-19 vaccine to ensure that vaccine supplies can reach all targeted areas safely and smoothly," he stated.

At the meeting, President Jokowi also sought reports on the government's vaccine procurement.

The novel coronavirus disease initially emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019 and thereafter spread worldwide, including to the nations in the Asia-Pacific region.

Indonesia made an official announcement on the country's first confirmed cases on March 2 this year.

The Indonesian government has consistently expressed confidence in the potential of the COVID-19 vaccines for helping win the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic that has posed a grave threat to public health and the economy.

Over the past few months, the government has made all-out efforts to secure potential COVID-19 vaccines for Indonesians through bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

The government is also supporting research efforts towards developing the country's own COVID-19 vaccine, Merah Putih (Red and White), named after the colors of the national flag.

Moreover, Indonesia is cooperating with China and the United Kingdom for the procurement and supply of COVID-19 vaccine candidates.

An Indonesian delegation secured access to COVID-19 vaccines from China during a meeting with representatives from Cansino, G42, Sinopharm, and Sinovac in China on October 10 this year. (Antaranews)

Leaders of the world’s 20 biggest economies on Sunday endorsed a plan to extend a freeze in official debt service payments by the poorest countries to mid-2021 and backed a common approach for dealing with their debt problems.

In a joint statement, Group of 20 leaders also strongly encouraged private creditors to take part in the initiative on comparable terms and said they were keeping an eye on the special challenges facing African and small island states.

The G20 debt relief initiative - launched shortly after the start of the pandemic in the spring - has helped 46 of 73 eligible countries defer $5.7 billion in 2020 debt service payments, freeing up funds for countries to fight the pandemic and shore up their economies.

But lack of private-sector participation and countries’ concerns about marring future access to capital markets have limited the success of the debt freeze, which was initially projected to generate some $12 billion in extra liquidity.

Some big creditor countries, including China, also failed to include all state-owned institutions, such as the China Development Bank, in responding to requests for debt relief.

The COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated concerns about high debt levels affecting not just low-income countries, but some middle-income states as well.

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva called for prompt and effective implementation of the debt treatment framework to provide permanent debt relief to the poorest countries, but said other countries also needed help.

“Going forward, we must also help those countries not covered by the framework to address debt vulnerabilities so that their economies can become more resilient,” Georgieva said in a statement after addressing G20 leaders.

Eric LeCompte, a U.N. adviser and executive director of Jubilee USA Network, said the new framework would push the private sector to get involved because it made G20 debt relief contingent on countries asking for similar treatment from private creditors, but offered no guarantees.

He said the G20 initiative also left out countries that needed urgent help.

“Six of the 12 countries with the highest COVID death rates are middle-income countries, which remain outside the scope of the G20 debt process,” he said.

The United States has said it is open to expanding the framework to include middle-income countries and small island states, but U.S. officials said that view was not currently shared by all G20 members. (Reuters)

Nearly 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines will be shipped and flown to developing countries next year in a “mammoth operation”, the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF said on Monday, as world leaders vowed to ensure the fair distribution of vaccines.

UNICEF said it was working with over 350 airlines and freight companies to deliver vaccines and 1 billion syringes to poor countries such as Burundi, Afghanistan and Yemen as part of COVAX, a global COVID-19 vaccine allocation plan with the World Health Organization (WHO).

“This invaluable collaboration will go a long way to ensure that enough transport capacity is in place for this historic and mammoth operation,” said Etleva Kadilli, director of UNICEF’s Supply Division, in a statement.

COVAX - co-led by GAVI vaccine group, the WHO and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations - aims to discourage governments from hoarding COVID-19 vaccines and to focus on first vaccinating the most at risk in every country.

At a G20 summit this weekend, leaders of the biggest 20 world economies pledged to ensure the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, drugs and tests so that poorer countries are not left out.

Even before the pandemic hit, access to vaccines was unequal with around 20 million babies not receiving vaccines that could save them from serious diseases, death, disability and ill health, according to the WHO.

“We need all hands on deck as we get ready to deliver COVID-19 vaccine doses, syringes and more personal protective equipment to protect frontline workers around the globe,” said UNICEF’S Kadilli, who is working with the Pan American Health Organization and the International Air Transport Association.

UNICEF’s role with COVAX stems from its status as the largest single vaccine buyer in the world.

It said it procures more than 2 billion doses of vaccines annually for routine immunisation and outbreak response on behalf of nearly 100 countries.

Drugmakers and research centres worldwide are racing to develop COVID-19 vaccines, with large global trials of several of the candidates involving tens of thousands of participants well underway.

Pfizer Inc and BioNTech could secure emergency U.S. and European authorisation for their COVID-19 vaccine next month after final trial results showed a 95% success rate and no serious side effects.

Moderna Inc last week released preliminary data for its vaccine showing 94.5% effectiveness.

The better-than-expected results from the two vaccines, both developed with new messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, have raised hopes for an end to a pandemic that has killed more than 1.3 million people and wreaked havoc upon economies and daily life. (Reuters)

Indonesia's President Joko Widodo has called on G20 Leaders to support low and middle-income countries struggling to recover from coronavirus pandemic as they met virtually this weekend at the 2020 Riyadh Summit, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said at a virtual press briefing, here on late Saturday.

President Jokowi said that without the bloc's help and solidarity to the low and middle-income countries, those nations would need longer time to recover from both health crisis and economic recession, the minister added.

Debt relief and emergency fund for COVID-19 pandemic were Jokowi's two main proposals to the bloc at the two-day summit chaired by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia.

The meeting's results is expected to deliver significant and clear messages to the world community, that the Leaders of the two-third economies will stand united on resolving global issues post COVID-19, mainly in terms of restoring jobs and building an inclusive, sustainable, and resilience future, said Retno Marsudi.

"The President said UNCTAD has announced it needs at least 2.5 trillion US dollar contribution from major countries to help low and middle income countries returning to normal after being hit by the economic and health crises. These countries need more flexible fiscal space for rapid economic recovery," the Indonesia's foreign minister stated.

At the meeting on late Saturday, attending virtually at Bogor Presidential Palace, President Jokowi said more flexible fiscal space will allow countries to allocate more funds to social safety net programs, boost domestic consumption, and support small and medium enterprises.

He also said the Leaders' financial supports will also help countries to procure COVID-19 vaccine.

Meanwhile, in term of providing emergency fund for COVID-19, the president said it needs strong political will from G20 Leaders to mobilize their financial resources for coronavirus vaccines, tests, and treatments.

Jokowi's call for debt relief and emergency COVID-19 funding were also echoed by other Leaders, including European Union who urged G20 to put more money into Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator and its COVAX Facility, a joint programme led by WHO, GAVI, and CEPI to procure vaccine equally at more affordable price.

Head of European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, in her post on Twitter, said she called for 4,5 billion US dollar to be invested in ACT Accelerator by the end of 2020, "for procurement and delivery of COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines everywhere," she reiterated.

EU, as stated by the European Council President Charles Michel, also proposed G20 should set up a treaty on pandemic.

"An international treaty would help us respond more quickly and in more coordinated manner," Michel told G20 as quoted by Reuters.

G20 in its statement last month said the bloc has contributed over 21 billion US dollar "to support the production, distribution, and access to diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines; injected 11 trillion US dollar to safeguard the global economy and launched a debt suspension initiative for the least developed countries that would allow beneficiary countries to defer 14 billion US dollar in debt payments due this year and use these amounts instead for financing their health systems and social programs". (Antaranews)