COVID-19 – Indonesia invests 5 mln USD for vaccine development

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – Indonesia has invested 5 million U.S. dollars to finance the global COVID-19 pandemic handling through the vaccine development in the role of the President of the G20 Forum, Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin has said.

In a press release received here on Friday (March 11), Budi Gunadi said the investment in the development of the COVID-19 vaccines was managed by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), which consists of the government and the private sector, aiming at accelerating the vaccine development.

In addition to the CEPI, which is headquartered in Norway, Budi said, Indonesia’s investment was also supported by the Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunization (GAVI), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

“Thanks to the CEPI, the GAVI, the WHO and the UNICEF, we have succeeded in delivering more than 353 million vaccines to more than 192 million Indonesians in 13 months,” Budi said in his speech at the Global Pandemic Preparedness Summit in Oslo, Norway, Tuesday (March 8).

According to the minister, the investment is in line with Indonesia’s spirit to create a global health architecture and to support pandemic financing, especially for low- and middle-income countries.

“That’s why we believe that we should work together, and Indonesia is ready to commit to the CEPI. Our commitment is for the greater kindness, so as not to leave anyone behind, and to better prepare the world against the next pandemic from now on,” he said.

The Global Pandemic Preparedness Summit was convened by the CEPI and the UK government on March 7-8, 2022 in Oslo, Norway.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the CEPI initiated various COVID-19 vaccine development programs and allocated them evenly throughout the world through the COVAX facility.

In addition, Budi Gunadi emphasized the importance of emergency funds in global health funding. These funds can be used by every country in the face of unexpected pandemics.

“We want to ensure that these funds can be used for emergency health measures, such as vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics,” he said.

“Now the world’s citizens once again ask global leaders to get up and make a better and healthier world, not only for us but also for our children and grandchildren,” he said.

Reporting by Indonesia Window