"Various important health programs are supported by the provision of good and quality diagnostic tools at affordable prices. Therefore, interventions carried out can become faster and more precise," the ministry's director general of pharmacy and medical devices, Lucia Rizka Andalusia, said on Saturday.
She delivered the remarks at a seminar on "Shaping the Future: Rethinking Access through Diagnostics in Indonesia."
According to her, the provision of quality diagnostic tools needs to prioritize availability, affordability, and accessibility.
"A targeted and accurate diagnosis is important so we can reduce unnecessary treatment if the diagnosis is correct," Andalusia explained.
Currently, health financing in Indonesia is used for non-communicable diseases, such as degenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, or cancer, which can be detected earlier, she said.
"The burden of disease has shifted to non-communicable diseases, which need early treatment. By increasing the scope of screening and diagnosis, we can intervene in diseases faster and provide more affordable diagnostic tools," she added.
According to her, Indonesia still relies on imported products for diagnostics. Therefore, her party is focusing on building domestic capacity to provide independent diagnostic tools.
"We hope to cut dependence on imported products. Based on our experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, we had problems accessing reagents and medicines," Andalusia disclosed.
In addition, she emphasized the importance of research and development efforts on diagnostics for early disease interventions.
At the seminar, Roche Diagnostics Indonesia also signed a cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Health for increasing early detection efforts and public health efforts for disease control.
"This synergy is a form of our commitment to support the health transformation agenda and achieve better health services and wider access to health. We appreciate the opportunity to partner with the Ministry of Health to realize a Healthy Indonesia," the director of the diagnostics division at PT Roche Indonesia, Lee Poh-Seng, said.
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Translator: Lintang Budiyanti P, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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