So That Medical Oxygen Never Becomes A Rare Goods In Indonesia

Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture (Menko PMK) Muhadjir Effendy reminded the importance of preventing medical oxygen scarcity through comprehensive management from upstream to downstream.

"It is necessary to prevent a shortage of medical oxygen for any reason, whether the number of availability is limited, whether the mechanism or distribution system is less than optimal, must be addressed," said Muhadjir Effendy after the Dissemination event: Sustainable Access to Medical Oxygen at the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture Office, Jakarta, Wednesday, December 21.

Indonesia has faced an increase in oxygen demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic from May to August 2021. This situation had caused Indonesia to lack medical oxygen and several hospitals had to save on medical oxygen supplies.

"One of the government's strategies is to overcome the medical oxygen crisis by giving a mandate to the private sector to convert industrial oxygen into medical oxygen," he said.

From a series of discussions held, it is known that apart from intervening in the production and distribution sector, another effort that needs to be made to prevent a medical oxygen crisis is to carry out crisis management.

"Specific skills and knowledge are needed in crisis management related to medical oxygen in hospitals, especially during a pandemic. In addition, handling the oxygen crisis must be comprehensive from upstream to downstream from regulation, production, distribution, and consumption," explained the Coordinating Minister, quoted from Antara.

Related to this, the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture appreciates the dissemination activities: Sustainable Access to Medical Oxygen organized by the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture together with the Muhammadiyah Disaster Management Center (MDMC) and PATH which are expected to encourage the birth of guidelines to overcome problems in the event of an oxygen crisis problem.

Meanwhile, Deputy for Coordination of Regional Development Equity and Disaster Management at the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture, Sudirman, emphasized the importance of strengthening sustainable access to medical oxygen by encouraging the Roadmap for Combating the Oxygen Crisis.

"The Roadmap for Oxygen Crisis Management includes policy unification in dealing with the oxygen crisis and implementation of regulatory simulations, the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture appreciates roadmaps, oxygen response maps and modules that have been submitted by MDMC to support strengthening access to medical oxygen," he said.