Jakarta (ANTARA) - The COVID-19 pandemic serves as an alarm for all parties to channel greater attention on health issues, including those related to medicine, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto stated.

"In the upcoming war, the threat to the nation will come in increasingly different forms, such as biological threat," he noted through a press statement on Friday.

"Hence, the emergence of the pandemic serves as an alarm for us to pay more attention to medical problems," he affirmed.

The health sector plays a crucial role in the success of an army.

"The presence of an health office and reliable health services supports soldiers across all terrains, be it land, sea, or air," he elaborated.

To this end, he lauded the work of health workers that have fought on the frontlines against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Subianto urged health workers in the Indonesian National Defense Force (TNI) hospitals to always maintain and take care of existing facilities.

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"I should remind that these (facilities) are developed from the people's money and efforts," he remarked.

The Defense Ministry has consistently supported the TNI to improve its capacity and skills in the medical field, he stressed.

This support includes increasing the number of hospitals in main commandos and improving the facility of TNI hospitals for providing the best services to TNI soldiers and the general public.

On Thursday, the minister inaugurated a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Center at the Gatot Soebroto Army Central Hospital (RSPAD), here.

During the event, he inspected the condition and readiness of the MRI center that will be useful to produce detailed anatomic structure images that could help doctors to diagnose patients.

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Translator: Genta Mawangi, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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