JAKARTA - Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi went to England and Switzerland to explore cooperation in the procurement of the COVID-19 vaccine, both through bilateral and multilateral schemes.
"The main objective of this trip is to secure commitments from other sources for the COVID-19 vaccine in the framework of bilateral vaccine cooperation," said Retno in an online press conference from Jakarta, reported by Antara , Monday, October 12.
In addition, Foreign Minister Retno who is accompanied by the Minister of BUMN and the Ministry of Health team will hold a meeting with the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) and representatives of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) and the Coalition for Innovation for Epidemic Preparedness (CEPI) to discuss the COVAX initiative.
Through the COVAX or the COVID-19 Global Vaccine Access Facility, GAVI is in charge of coordinating vaccine procurement, while CEPI monitors research and development of vaccine candidates.
Through the COVAX initiative, the purchase of the COVID-19 vaccine, if available, will be carried out through one door, namely from the UNICEF Procurement Division in Copenhagen, Denmark --- one of the largest humanitarian aid procurement facilities in the world.
In this cooperation scheme, UNICEF is tasked with coordinating the purchase and delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine to more than 140 countries, including Indonesia, so that each country has equal and affordable access to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
The aim of the Indonesian government's visit to the UK and Switzerland is also to encourage strengthening of medium and long-term cooperation between the domestic vaccine producer PT Bio Farma and its partners abroad.
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