Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian government has moved to increase the supervision of imports and exports of medical devices and household health supplies through the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) by three institutions.

The three institutions are the National Single Window Institution (LNSW), Directorate General of Customs and Excise (DJBC), and Directorate General of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices of the Health Ministry.

The MoU covers the exchange of data and/or information, joint use of facilities and infrastructure, handling of violations against import activities and/or imports of medical device commodities and/or household health supplies, as well as strengthening integrated supervision through Single Stakeholder Information (SSI) Indonesia Single Risk Management (ISRM).

"Through this collaboration, LNSW is committed to supporting the implementation of effective export and import supervision by providing access to reliable data and information," LNSW head M. Agus Rofiudin informed in a statement received here on Tuesday.

Given the importance of medical devices and household health supplies in Indonesia, Rofiudin said he hoped that with the data and information exchange through the Indonesia National Single Window System, handling of violations of the post-border import trade system can be made more precise and quick.

Meanwhile, director-general of pharmaceuticals and medical devices at the Health Ministry, Lucia Rizka Andalucia, said she hoped that the directorate general would be able to supply data for this collaboration.

Thus, when regulating policies related to medical device commodities and household health supplies, her side would have an adequate database.

Moreover, director-general of customs and excise, Askolani, said that the collaboration between DJBC, LNSW, and the Health Ministry was quite well, based on their experience during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the early days of the pandemic, the three agencies had succeeded in building an information technology system that helped import vaccines and other medical devices in limited time.

"With collaboration, we can face these challenges, and Indonesia can survive. We will continue to support the ease of facilitation and supervision," Askolani added.

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Translator: Citro Atmoko, Resinta S
Editor: Sri Haryati
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