Indonesia Sends 10 Million Doses of Polio Vaccine to Afghanistan
Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi and Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani officiate the delivery of 10 million doses of polio vaccine to Afghanistan, Thursday (03/07), at Soekarno Hatta Airport, Tangerang, Banten. (Photo by: Public Relations of the Ministry of Finance)
The Government, through the International Development Cooperation Fund Agency (LDKPI) or Indonesian AID, sent 10 million doses of bPOV polio vaccine to Afghanistan. The delivery of the vaccine produced by state-owned pharmaceutical holding company Bio Farma was officiated by Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno LP Marsudi and Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Thursday (07/03/2024), at Soekarno Hatta Airport, Tangerang, Banten.
In her remarks, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said that the delivery of the polio vaccine was part of Indonesia’s commitment to the people of Afghanistan.
“The interests of the people are always our priority. And God willing, many benefits can be felt directly by the Afghan people in need of them,” said Retno.
Retno said that the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan is currently still not improving. Inadequate health system conditions have made people vulnerable to exposure to infectious diseases. Afghanistan is also one of the countries in the world that is categorized as a polio endemic country.
“In the midst of this situation, we certainly have to help. And this is also based on a request from Afghanistan for polio vaccines, because in terms of polio vaccines, I think we are among the most advanced. We have produced and exported polio vaccines to many countries,” she said.
At the end of her remarks, the Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed her appreciation to all parties for their collaboration in providing this aid, including UNICEF, which will facilitate the delivery and distribution of the vaccine.
“Once again Indonesia demonstrates that we are ready to contribute to humanitarian causes. Indonesia is always committed to supporting the people of Afghanistan,” she stressed.
Echoing similar sentiment, Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati said that the delivery of this aid was a form of Indonesia’s commitment to actively carrying out peace and humanitarian diplomacy as mandated by the constitution.
“Indonesia, as an independent country, has a constitutional mandate to participate in implementing the world order based on independence, eternal peace and social justice. In that spirit, we always have a spirit of cooperation and collaboration and also support various multilateral and bilateral programs, including the global commitment to achieving sustainable development goals, one of which is in the health sector,” said the Minister of Finance.
Since its founding in October 2019, Indonesian AID has provided development cooperation grants worth Rp356.58 billion to 49 friendly countries, including Palestine, Myanmar, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea and Fiji. This agency, whose funding is allocated in the state budget, was established to carry out international diplomacy in the form of various types of grants and development cooperation in education, health, and other humanitarian aid sectors. Furthermore, Indonesian AID has been able to establish development collaboration with international institutions such as the World Bank, Islamic Development Bank, ICRC, UNRWA, OACPS, ASEAN and MSG.
“During its 4 years of operation, this agency has provided development cooperation grants worth Rp356.58 billion to 49 friendly countries, including Palestine, Ukraine, Myanmar, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea and Fiji,” said the Minister of Finance. (Public Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Public Relations of the Ministry of Finance/UN) (TM/MUR)
