Following the death toll from the Covid virus, Indonesia has called for vaccine equity

[ASEAN NOW Content Team]

 

In an exclusive interview with the BBC, Indonesian President Joko Widodo asked wealthy countries to share vaccines with poorer countries.

"It shouldn't be simply a few nations that get all the vaccines, while some other countries only get a bit," Mr Widodo added.

He made the remarks before of a trip to the G20 and COP26 summits, when he will meet with other world leaders.

One of the countries severely afflicted by the Covid epidemic was Indonesia.

President Jokowi, as he is known, also argued that more vaccination fairness is needed so that developing and poorer countries are not left behind in this pandemic.

 

In a virtual interview from the Indonesian presidential palace in Jakarta, he stated, "Everyone has assisted, but in my perspective it's not enough."

 

"In this moment of crisis, advanced countries must do more to assist developing countries in obtaining vaccines so that we may all fight this pandemic."

Mr Widodo's remarks come as Indonesia struggles to recover from the pandemic's effects.
The government officially documented more than 50,000 cases every day at its peak, but the true figure could have been much higher.
According to government statistics, about 150,000 people have died.

 

As oxygen supplies around the archipelago ran out, people died in their homes, grasping for air.
Overcrowded hospitals turned away the sick, and funeral homes ran out of room for the dead.

 

The country is "teetering on the edge of a Covid-19 catastrophe," according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Mr. Widodo's administration, on the other hand, first downplayed the condition.
Terawan Agus Putranto, his previous health minister, famously stated that the country would be spared from the virus due to "all the prayers."

 

In the interview, he admitted that his administration made mistakes in dealing with the pandemic, blaming them on a lack of healthcare infrastructure in the country.

 

"Our hospitals, our facilities were overburdened and unable to cope," he explained, "and this resulted in a lot of deaths."

 

According to government data, the COVID situation has improved since then, with fewer deaths and cases.

Vaccination efforts have also increased.
According to the most recent World Bank figures, Indonesia has administered over 100 million doses of vaccines, with about 30% of the population fully vaccinated - no small feat in such a vast archipelago.

 

However, whereas urban regions such as Jakarta currently have high immunisation rates, rural areas are more difficult to reach.

"The disparity in amenities [between rural and urban areas] is enormous, and this is what we need to address," Mr Widodo added.
"For example, some hospitals do not have an ICU; we need to address that, get the equipment, and get these facilities ready so that we can improve things."

 

However, critics argue that the problem was not simply a lack of investment in healthcare; it was also a lack of government readiness that resulted in hundreds of thousands of people dying when they could have been rescued.

 

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