Preventing The Advanced Pandemic, ASEAN Agrees To Establish A Center For Infectious Disease Health

Minister of Health Budi G Sadikin (Photo: dock. Antara)

JAKARTA The meeting of the Minister of Health and Minister of Finance of ASEAN in Jakarta this week resulted in an important agreement to establish a public health center for infectious and emergency diseases or the ASEAN Center for Public Health Emergency.

This was conveyed by the Minister of Finance when holding a press conference with the Minister of Health (Menkes) Budi Gunadi Sadikin.

"We agreed to accelerate the establishment, agreement and preparation phase of the ASEAN Center for Public Health Emergency," he said on Thursday, August 24.

The Minister of Finance explained that the construction of these facilities was the result of the mobilization of health funds from members in the area supported by the private sector and also philanthropic.

"From these funds, we want the flexibility of their use to increase in order to be able to maintain even greater public health and other infectious diseases that may arise," he said.

Therefore, the Minister of Finance said that further synergy was needed in the ASEAN health and financial sectors to achieve this mandate.

From the meeting of the Minister of Health and the Minister of Finance, the results will be reported on September 5-7 at the next meeting. We are committed to increasing cooperation and resilience in the ASEAN community," he stressed.

On the same occasion, Minister of Health Budi Sadikin said that financing mobilization is very important to support real action in the health sector.

"Hopefully the Southeast Asian region will be better prepared if the pandemic comes in the future. This is our gift for future generations," said the Minister of Health.