Learning from COVID-19, Ganjar Says Indonesia Needs Health Industrial Areas

Presidential Candidate (Capres) Ganjar Pranowo. (Photo: Mery Handayani/VOI)

JAKARTA - Presidential candidate (Capres) Ganjar Pranowo believes that Indonesia needs to have a region or area prepared for the health industry.

According to him, this is to prevent collective panic which results in everyone not being handled properly when faced with health issues.

“It feels like Indonesia needs a health industrial area. In the future, learn from yesterday's COVID experience, collaboration between many countries is needed for this. So that there is no collective panic that causes everything not to be handled properly. Indonesia needs that," he said at the US Summit 2023, at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Jakarta, Tuesday, October 24.

The former Governor of Central Java said that Indonesia could work together with the world health industry in developing this health industrial area.

One of them is the company that makes the Pfizer vaccine.

"We know that there is Pfizer, there is Johnson and Johnson, there are brands that we know, then if we invite them to participate there, of course other countries will have the same agreement. "I also mentioned that we need a special economic zone that we can choose," he said.

"We have tried to simulate several things and they are close to something that can be implemented, it's not that difficult, a bit more because it already exists," he continued.

For your information, regarding the health industrial area itself, the Indonesian government is currently building it.

The BUMN Hospital Holding (RS) or Indonesia Healthcare Corporation (IHC) is building the Bali International Hospital (BIH) in the Health Special Economic Zone (KEK), Sanur, Bali. This hospital is targeted to start operating in 2024.

The Sanur health SEZ in Denpasar will become a world health service center and a new tourism magnet through the concept of medical & wellness tourism, targeted for a soft opening at the end of the year and operating in early 2024.

Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Erick Thohir said that IHC/BUMN Hospital Holding plays an important role in building Indonesia's health ecosystem.

With the existence of BIH in the Health SEZ in Sanur, Bali, Erick also invited Diaspora abroad to return to Indonesia, where currently 10 diaspora have registered.

According to him, this is part of an intervention effort as 2,000,000 Indonesians continue to seek treatment abroad.

"This is why we hope that the hospital in the KEK Health will become a new tourist destination for the Indonesian people," said Erick.