Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on Tuesday urged G20 countries to work together to address capacity gaps in the health sector.
"The health capacity gap cannot be allowed. Developing countries need partnerships to empower them," he said at the opening of the second session of the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua, Badung, Bali.
Speaking in front of 17 leaders of G20 countries and leaders of international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank, the Indonesian President asked developed countries who are members of the G20 to involve developing countries in finding solutions to health problems.
"Developing countries must become a part of the global health supply chain, including manufacturing and research centers," he stressed at the second session, which focused on the global health architecture.
According to President Jpkowi, the capacity gap in the health sector can be reduced if developed countries and investors increase their investment in the health sector of developing countries and strengthen research collaboration with developing countries.
"Cooperation in research and technology transfer must be strengthened and access to production raw materials is expanded for developing countries. In addition, the TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) Waiver must be extended to all health solutions, including diagnostics and therapeutics. WHO must also realize its commitments related to health solution hubs and spokes," he added.
The TRIPS Waiver is a vaccine equalization scheme that was proposed by India and South Africa at the World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting on October 2, 2020.
The two G20 nations urged the WTO to relinquish the obligation to protect intellectual property rights related to the prevention, preparedness, and treatment of COVID-19. The WTO agreed on the proposal in June 2022.
President Jokowi has sought to take advantage of this momentum and Indonesia's leadership of the G20 to expand the application of the TRIPS Waiver for handling other health problems, and not limit it to COVID-19, considering that the world is currently facing various health threats.
Meanwhile, the hubs and spokes model of health solutions covers vaccine distribution schemes, which start from the point of production, include airports as centers, and end with the smallest healthcare facilities in a country.
At the second session of the G20 Summit, Jokowi asked the WHO to realize its commitment to strengthening the capacity of hubs as part of efforts to strengthen the global health architecture.
"The world cannot repeat the mistakes (made) during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a valuable journey to prepare the world for a global health emergency. ‘Never again’ must be our common mantra," he emphasized in his closing statement.
Editor : Fiqih Arfani
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