Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia and India have strengthened their cooperation in the health sector, with India committing to providing direct training for Indonesian health workers. This includes a fellowship program that grants a one-year temporary practice permit.
In a statement on Wednesday, Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin highlighted that the initiative aims to enhance the competence of Indonesian medical professionals, particularly in critical areas such as robotic surgery, liver transplantation, and emergency management.
As part of this partnership, the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop health worker capacity, facilitate pharmaceutical technology transfer, and collaborate on the production of vaccines and diagnostic tools.
“This collaboration is expected to improve the quality of healthcare services in both nations and expand public access to high-quality medical care,” Sadikin stated.
Baca juga: Ministry launches TB Handbook to achieve TB elimination goal
During a visit to Apollo Hospital in New Delhi, Sadikin reviewed the effectiveness of hospital-based training that supports optimizing medical facilities such as MRI and Cath Lab.
According to the minister, Indonesia also plans to adopt a similar approach to accelerate the development of specialist and subspecialist doctors.
In addition, the two nations have also bolstered ties in the pharmaceutical sector through a collaboration between Bio Farma and the Serum Institute of India (SII).
Sadikin stated that the MoU between the two entities covers the production and distribution of latent tuberculosis (TB) diagnostic tools and the recombinant BCG (rBCG) vaccine.
Biotis Indonesia also participated in the collaboration with Biological E Limited in the transfer of technology for the production of children's vaccines, such as DPT-HepB-Hib, PCV, and JE.
"One of the important points in this MoU is the mutual recognition of the qualifications of health workers from both countries. This step offers opportunities for doctors and nurses to work across countries, increase knowledge transfer, and expand the scope of health services, especially in remote areas in Indonesia," the minister elaborated.
The MoU in the health sector was carried out during the state visit of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto to India on January 24-26, 2025.
In the same statement, Prabowo stated that the strategic cooperation between Indonesia and India in the health sector is part of the two countries' grand vision to improve people's welfare.
"This strategic partnership will be a solid foundation for the two countries to continue to move forward and strengthen the friendship that has existed for 75 years," the president affirmed.
He added that this MoU can bring real change to the health sector, both at the national and international levels.
