Indonesia’s Digital Health Program Gets Support from Bill Gates

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Indonesia’s digital-based health transformation program has received support from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said.

“The existing support includes strengthening primary services based on the use of the latest information technology and health technology,” Budi said in a press statement on Monday, Sept. 26.

The billionaire conveyed his support during a meeting with Minister Budi on the sidelines of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the Global Fund Replenishment Conference in New York on Sept. 20.

At the meeting, Budi outlined the six pillars of health transformation carried out by the government to improve health services for the community.

Also read: Acute Hepatitis Not Linked to Covid-19 Vaccination, Says Indonesia’s Health Ministry

The six pillars include the transformation of primary services, hospital referral services, the health resilience system, the health financing system, health of human resources, and the transformation of health technology related to information technology and biotechnology.

The transformation included the development of the Covid-19 contact tracing app PeduliLindungi, which has been downloaded by more than 50 million users.

The app is equipped with the latest features, such as a medical history feature, which includes a history of domestic and foreign vaccination status to accommodate foreign citizens.

Another development is the preparation of the PeduliLindungi in 13 languages to improve the standard of health services at the G20 Summit in November this year.

Also read: Indonesia to Launch Homegrown Covid-19 Vaccine Soon

“In the future, the PeduliLindungi app will also be integrated with the personal SATUSEHAT platform [the country’s health services platform],” the minister said.

These services will help users monitor their health through applications containing their digital medical records and allow the provision of more efficient and transparent services at integrated health facilities.

Several parties at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) are coordinating with the Indonesian Health Ministry to support the health development sector in Indonesia, the minister said.

The minister also invited Gates to visit Indonesia to see the progress in health development.

Source: State News Antara