WHO supported the Indonesian Ministry of Health (MoH) in conducting in-depth stakeholder meetings via video conference to review the health sector Operational Response Plan for COVID-19.
Stakeholders from national agencies, professional associations, and international partners shared inputs from across multiple sectors on the various COVID-19 response activities, identifying gaps and proposing solutions to challenges.
This will be used to evaluate and improve the COVID-19 health sector response plan, aligning it with the WHO Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan for COVID-19. The outcomes from the review meeting will be used to feed into the broader multisector response plan developed by the COVID-19 Task Force under the overall coordination of Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB).
WHO presented the operational strategy guideline for COVID-19 preparedness and response, emphasizing the importance of regularly monitoring the response plan indicators. Relevant key stakeholders shared insights on responses, gaps and challenges encountered since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Indonesia.
The stakeholder review is only one example of the continuous efforts by many partners to mobilize resources towards improving logistical coordination among responders and the distribution of vital supplies. Community-based surveillance has been improved through ongoing participation of volunteers who support data reporting and contact tracing.
WHO is also supporting the procurement and distribution of vital COVID-19 test kits
A delivery including 2 178 real-time fluorescent RT-PCR (polymerase chain reaction test) kits, 126 nucleic acid extraction kits and 1 815 disposable sampling kits was passed to the National Institute of Health and Research Development (NIHRD), for further distribution to laboratories in the national COVID-19 lab network.
Since the first patients of COVID-19 were identified in March, WHO has supplied Indonesia with an additional 520 kits (providing 52 000 reactions), 235 primers and probes (23 500 reactions), as well as personal protective equipment.A delivery of 1 000 viral transport media (VTM), which enable the safe transfer of virus samples for further testing and research, was expected to arrive by the end of July. The value of these test kits procured and distributed by WHO is estimated at almost US$1.5 million and have been made possible through the support of the Government of Japan.