KOICA Supports Reduction of Regional Medical Disparities in Indonesia to Overcome COVID-19

KOICA-Indonesia Red Cross Memorandum of Understanding Signed
Supporting Vulnerable Communities in COVID-19 Response Including Public Facility Disinfection and Strengthening Local Hospital Capacities

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] KOICA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) on the 19th (local time) to strengthen COVID-19 response capabilities and agreed to support public facility disinfection and capacity building for regional hospitals in Indonesian communities.

The signing ceremony, held at the Indonesian Red Cross auditorium in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, was attended by Park Tae-sung, Ambassador to Indonesia, Jeong Hoe-jin, Head of KOICA Indonesia Office, and Yusuf Kala, Representative of the Indonesian Red Cross.

This support project was promoted as part of the Korean government’s ‘Development Cooperation Initiative for a Safe World Together (ODA KOREA: Building TRUST)*’ and implemented through KOICA’s ABC program.

As of the 18th, Indonesia is the Southeast Asian country with the highest number of COVID-19 infections, with approximately 470,000 cumulative confirmed cases and a death toll reaching 15,000. The Indonesian government is conducting nationwide large-scale social distancing and implementing a full government-level response, but the daily confirmed cases have surged to the 5,000 range this month, making it insufficient to curb the spread.

Moreover, concerns about community transmission are growing across the 34 provinces in Indonesia, and due to the geographical characteristics of numerous large and small islands, the medical disparity between regions is worsening. In particular, establishing an integrated COVID-19 response system that manages key resources such as medical infrastructure and professional personnel nationwide is urgently needed.

Under this agreement, KOICA and the Indonesian Red Cross will implement a ‘Community COVID-19 Response Capacity Building Project’ worth 500,000 USD (approximately 600 million KRW) across 450 regencies in 34 provinces nationwide until September next year. KOICA plans to support about one million COVID-19 frontline workers, including Red Cross medical staff, health workers, and medical volunteers.

The two organizations will carry out △disinfection services for public facilities nationwide △COVID-19 prevention campaigns through TV public service advertisements, radio, newspapers, and lifestyle information magazines △establishment of an integrated COVID-19 information management network △capacity building support activities for local COVID-19 dedicated hospitals.

Additionally, by utilizing the existing community network of the Indonesian Red Cross, they plan to establish communication systems among local governments, share and promote COVID-19 response achievements. Various educational materials and promotional content will be shared in real-time with the public, government ministries, healthcare institutions, universities, and research institutes through the International Red Cross website.

Jeong Hoe-jin, Head of KOICA Indonesia Office, stated, “The Korean government is currently implementing a comprehensive emergency COVID-19 support program in Indonesia with an investment of 6 billion KRW this year, and plans to expand the scope of projects focusing on vulnerable groups support and strengthening national disaster response capabilities.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.