"If they want to open a business in Indonesia, the Indonesian government will prioritize building research and development centers. Once the equipment is ready, we will have the manpower to operate the machine," he informed at the signing ceremony for a cooperation agreement between a technology company and a vertical hospital in Jakarta on Tuesday.
According to him, research and development centers are needed to help health practitioners exchange views and get training to operate the latest medical equipment at hospitals across the country.
Sadikin said that cooperation with foreign technology companies is necessary, especially to improve health services for the top 10 diseases in Indonesia, including heart disease, stroke, and cancer.
Therefore, he expressed support for Siemens Healthineers' collaboration with four Indonesian vertical hospitals, namely Dharmais Cancer Hospital, National Brain Center Hospital (PON), Hasan Sadikin Bandung Hospital, and Harapan Kita National Heart Center Hospital, to increase their disease treatment capabilities and improve the recovery rate.
The minister said that Siemens' decision to develop its technology in Indonesia is based on the number of patients suffering from diseases compared to other countries.
"Many doctors abroad, such as from Japan, study in Indonesia for surgery because Indonesia has a large unhealthy population, so this is the right step to build a health service system here," he expounded.
Meanwhile, the ministry's director general of health services, Dr. Azhar Jaya, said that collaboration with the private sector will improve the existing health system in Indonesia and is expected to provide better results in increasing the cure rate for Indonesians against the top 3 diseases.
"In my opinion, the most important thing is building the research ecosystem in Indonesia regarding the best treatment for a disease," Jaya added.
It is hoped that the collaboration will also help eliminate obstacles to the availability of medical equipment, drug innovation, and biotechnology development, Minister Sadikin said.
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Translator: Fitra Ashari, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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