TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia through the Indonesian Agency for International Development (LDKPI) delivered 10 million doses of bOPV polio vaccine to Afghanistan. The delivery ceremony was held by Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi and Indonesian Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati at Soekarno Hatta Airport, Jakarta, on Thursday, March 7, 2024.

Retno said that the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan has not improved. The UN World Food Program estimates that there are 23.7 million Afghans in need of humanitarian assistance.

An inadequate health system makes people vulnerable to infectious diseases. Afghanistan is also one of the countries in the world that is categorized as a polio-endemic country.

"Amid this situation, we are of course obliged to help. This is also requested by the Afghan representative to donate since I believe we are among the most advanced. We have produced and exported [polio vaccines] to many countries," Retno said.

The polio vaccine grant is produced by Bio Farma. This delivery is part of Indonesia's commitment to the Afghan people. Indonesia cooperates with UNICEF, which will facilitate the delivery and distribution of the vaccine.

Meanwhile, Sri Mulyani said the assistance of 10 million doses of polio vaccine is concrete support for Afghanistan's vaccination program that will reach 3.3 million children under the age of three.

The Minister added that LDKPI or Indonesian AID was established in the spirit of solidarity among developing countries and commitment to global targets such as SDGs.

"During its four years of operation, this institution has provided development cooperation grants worth Rp356.58 billion to 49 neighboring countries, including Palestine, Ukraine, Myanmar, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea, and Fiji," Sri Mulyani said.

SUCI SEKARWATI

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