Concrete Innovations Needed to Combat COVID-19, President Jokowi Says

By Office of Assistant to Deputy Cabinet Secretary for State Documents & Translation     Date 20 Mei 2020
Category: News
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President Jokowi inaugurates the Launch of Research, Technology, and Innovation Products for the Acceleration of COVID-19 Handling through a video conference, Wednesday (20/5). (Photo by: Public Relations / Oji)

The world is competing in dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak; therefore, Indonesia should develop concrete innovations and tangible work to fight the pandemic, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has said.

“This serves as a new momentum for the awakening of the nation. This is also a new momentum for the revival of Indonesian science and technology in the health sector,” President Jokowi said in his remarks at the Launching of Research, Technology, and Innovation Products for the Acceleration of COVID-19 Handling through a video conference, which was broadcast live on Ministry of Research and Technology’s Youtube account, Wednesday (20/5).

According to President Jokowi, this year’s National Awakening Day is dedicated to Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo who fought at the forefront to combat the bubonic plague at that time.

“Today, we should be proud of the children of the nation. We can produce innovative products because of them. Demands for these crucial items remain high in the fight against COVID-19. I saw the products myself yesterday,” the President said, adding that production capacity of rapid detection kits could reach up to 100,000 units, be it rapid testing kits or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) devices.

“There is also emergency ventilators produced by the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), University of Indonesia (UI), Gadjah Mada University (UGM), the automotive holding Dharma group, and hospital equipment maker PT Poly Jaya Medik. The ventilators are expected to enter mass production immediately,” the President added.

The President also pointed out that there are several products that will be completed, including mobile Biosafety Level-2 (BSL-2) laboratories, Immunomodulator products to slow disease progression, and artificial intelligence (AI)-based sensors to detect the spread of the disease.

“Based on what I saw yesterday, I believe that we can be independent enough to produce medical devices,” President Jokowi said, while expressing hope that Indonesia is able to develop its own vaccine.

“I am grateful that the Eijkman Institute has received seven genome sequences of coronavirus samples that are expected to help scientists for vaccine development. I am also pleased that the research communities continues to work to find effective medicine and therapies for COVID-19 treatment,” President Jokowi said.

According to the President, cooperation and collaboration between the Research and Development Department (Litbang), universities, the business sector, the industrial sector, and the community is needed to develop domestic innovative products.

“It is time for the industrial sector to invest. It is time for the people to love using local products. We should be proud of our own production. We should continuously improve conducive ecosystems,” the President added. (FID EN).

 

 

Translated by: Syarifah Aisyah
Reviewed by: M. Ersan Pamungkas

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