Indonesia's G20 Presidency Strengthens Global Cooperation Over A Collective Pandemic

Illustration (Photo: Indonesia's G20 National Presidency Committee)

JAKARTA - The government through the Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu) considers that efforts are needed to strengthen the global health architecture of all countries in the world to overcome the current health challenges and prepare for future pandemic potential.

Expert Staff for Macroeconomics and International Finance at the Ministry of Finance, Wempi Saputra, said that this initiative was continuously encouraged by the government in carrying out the mandate of the G20 Indonesia Presidency for the 2022 period.

"Global cooperation is important considering the fact that each country has a very varied capacity in overcoming health threats," he said in an official statement when speaking at the Halal Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Ecosystem Industry forum, Thursday, July 7.

According to Wempi, Indonesia as the President of the G20 has set three priority agendas, one of which is related to strengthening the global health architecture.

Priority to the health agenda will be achieved through coordination between finance and health policies in prevention, preparedness, and pandemic response (Prevention, Preparedness, and Response/PPR), as well as strengthening the global health and financing system.

"In June 2022, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance of Indonesia will hold the 1st G20 Joint Finance and Health Ministers Meeting (JFHM) under the President of the G20 Indonesia. The meeting was attended by members of the G20, invitations, and international organizations," he said.

Wempi explained that JFHM was held to discuss several progresses that had been made by the Joint Finance and Health Task Force (JFHTF) on the PPR policy, including the development of the establishment of the Financial Intermediary Fund (FIF) and developing a coordination plan between Finance and Health.

Wempi further said that regarding the new FIF financing mechanism, the finance minister and the G20 health minister agreed on the need for a new multilateral financing mechanism dedicated to overcoming the pandemic mortgage financing gap.

"Later on, the placement of these funds will be in the World Bank as a trustee," he said.

For information, currently the amount of funds collected reaches 1.1 billion US dollars in FIFs contributed to the handling of the pandemic. This figure includes a contribution of 50 million US dollars from Indonesia.

This meeting also raises the issue of the spirit of inclusivity in handling the global pandemic. Inclusiveness is the most important thing so that all efforts can be combined between the Ministry of Finance and Health, as well as between developed and developing countries. Only then can we effectively be ready to face the next global pandemic together," concluded Wempi.