Sadikin stated here on Tuesday that several Indonesians go overseas for cancer treatment as therapy and detection are difficult to conduct due to few hospitals facilitating the service. He noted that Indonesia only has three hospitals, all in Jakarta, providing PET scans.
He drew comparisons with Malaysia, which has 20 hospitals providing the service, and Singapore, with 17 hospitals offering the same. According to the minister, the three hospitals serve some 280 million Indonesians, thereby leading to long queues for diagnosis and treatment.
He said cancer is a deadly disease that has claimed the lives of several Indonesians, so it has become one of the government's concerns. Hence, he saw the importance of producing these medical machines domestically to boost cancer treatment and diagnosis.
"Now, we want to buy some 18 more (PET scan machines), and they will be (distributed) to 16 big cities across all large islands in Indonesia," he remarked.
He expected that by the end of 2025, a total of 21 hospitals will be providing the service.
He lauded Kalbe Farma's initiative to manufacture the machines, which can boost progress in achieving national pharmaceuticals and medical tools resilience.
On the occasion, President Director of Kalbe Farma Irawati Setiady stated that their collaboration with GE Healthcare, which aims to manufacture PET and CT scan equipment domestically, is part of their commitment to supporting the government's health transformation initiative.
"Kalbe fully supports this effort for transformation by establishing radioisotope and radiopharmaceuticals production facility," Setiady remarked.
Setiady expected that her company's initiative could expedite access to comprehensive cancer therapy for everyone.
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Reporter: Mecca Yumna Ning Prisie
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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