SECURE Webinar 12: Strengthening Health Surveillance and Diagnostic Capacity in Indonesia
On a global scale, the COVID-19 pandemic underscored the disparity in diagnostic capabilities among nations and highlighted the direct correlation between these capacities and response effectiveness. Investing in post-pandemic initiatives to enhance diagnostic testing capabilities, alongside robust information systems, was crucial for establishing enduring diagnostic and surveillance systems. These systems serve as the backbone of a health system. Diagnostic tests served as the eyes and ears of the health-care system, sounding alarms about unusual disease patterns or sending early outbreak alerts, and providing the capacity to respond directly.
Indonesia was hit severely by the COVID-19 pandemic, with over 6.8 million confirmed cases and 161,867 confirmed deaths reported by 26 June 2023. It experienced three waves of strong outbreaks in January and July 2021, as well as in February 2022, with more than 10,000 daily confirmed new cases. This put a strain on the already constrained healthcare system and showed the impact of the limited workforce’s capacity, uneven distribution of diagnostic laboratories, and the oversight alignment and standardization challenge in the implementation guidelines across central and local government. Indonesia’s early response to the COVID-19 pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in its health security system.
In the face of numerous challenges, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted unparalleled levels of systems integration within the Indonesian government. As per the World Health Organization (WHO), achieving a high level of operational readiness was crucial for ensuring prompt, effective, and efficient preparedness and response to pandemics. The post-pandemic Health System Transformation Agenda (HSTA) outlined by the Government of Indonesia emphasized the intention to standardize an integrated model of primary care and bolster surveillance, diagnostic capabilities, and public health laboratories.
Further enhancing these capacities would enhance existing control measures and help prevent future disease outbreaks.
| Date | Session / Activity | Presentation Material | Speaker(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 02 Apr 2024 | Opening | Welcome Remarks and Overview of the Webinar | Ms. Karin Schelzig, Director, Human and Social Development, SG |
| 02 Apr 2024 | Presentation |
Surveillance – Public Health Laboratory This presentation gives an overview ofIndonesia’s current diagnostic and Surveillance capacity and the Public Health Laboratory Transformation. |
Tjandra Yoga Aditama |
| 02 Apr 2024 | Presentation |
Strengthening Surveillance and Diagnostic Capacity in Indonesia This presentation gives an overview ofthe importance of strengthening diagnostic capacity and surveillance for pandemic preparedness and national health... |
David Heymann, Rosanna Peeling |
| 02 Apr 2024 | Presentation | Potential recommendation and way forward for enhancing Indonesia’s existing control measures and help prevent future disease outbreaks | Prof. Rosanna Peeling, Professor and Chair of Diagnostics Research at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Director of the International Diagnostics Centre |
| 02 Apr 2024 | Panel Discussion | Questions and Answers | Dr. Rabiah Al Adawiyah, Consultant and Health Security Expert (Indonesia), TA 6767 |
| 02 Apr 2024 | Closing | Closing Remarks | Dr. Eduardo Banzon, Principal Health Specialist, Human and Social Development Sector Office Sectors Group, ADB |