Minister Of Health Claims That Domestic Scan PET Production Can Reduce Medical Travel Abroad

JAKARTA - Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said efforts to build a national radiofarmaka ecosystem to supply PET Scan and CT Scan could reduce the number of residents who went abroad for treatment.

Budi said the reason people go abroad for cancer treatment was because in Indonesia it was difficult to detect it, due to the lack of hospitals that provided the service.

Dia menyoroti layanan PET scan di Malaysia, di mana terdapat 20 RS yang menyediakan layanan itu, sementara di Singapura ada 17 RS yang menyediakannya.

As for Indonesia, he said, there are only three hospitals with this service, and all of them are only in Jakarta. With a population of 280 million and only three service providers, said Budi, the queue could be for weeks.

Therefore, he said, the production of these medical devices is important, because cancer is a disease that is prioritized by the state, because it kills so many people.

The Minister of Health also mentioned his plans to provide a number of PET Scans, and he hopes that by the end of 2025, Indonesia will have a total of 21 PET Scans.

"Now we want to buy around 18 more, and it will be in 16 cities across major islands in Indonesia," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, October 15.

Budi appreciated Kalbe Farma's efforts in producing these machines, which are considered to be able to accelerate the fulfillment of national medical equipment needs.

Meanwhile, Kalbe Farma President Director Irawati Setiady said together with GE HealthCare, they provided a local scan PET and CT machine to improve the independence of national medical devices, in line with the government's health transformation initiative.

"Kalbe fully supports this transformation effort by building radioisotopic and radiofarmaka production facilities," said Ira.

He hopes the move can expand access to comprehensive cancer therapy for the public.