On 2 June 2020, five ventilators procured by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) were handed over to Indonesia’s National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB) and Ministry of Health.
The ventilators arrived in Jakarta at the end of May as part of a joint effort by the three UN organizations to provide assistance to the Government of Indonesia in its response to COVID-19.
Over the next month, WHO, UNDP and IOM will together provide a total of 33 ventilators to Indonesia, 27 of which will come from a WHO partnership with the Government of Japan.
“Japan is pleased to support Indonesia at a time when partnerships are so needed to overcome the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and provide care to those who need it,” Ishii Masafumi, Ambassador of Japan to Indonesia said.
The Government of Japan has contributed US$ 11.5 million to the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia and the Indonesia country office for activities linked to the COVID-19 response in Indonesia. The funds will be utilised for activities to suppress the human-to-human transmission of COVID-19 and provide care for patients affected by COVID-19 and their families, including the donation of 150 ventilators.
Although many patients infected with COVID-19 do not require hospital treatment, for severely ill patients whose lungs have been damaged by the disease, a ventilator can help to regulate their breathing by pushing oxygen-rich air into the lungs. The ventilator is expected to give the patient time to fight off the virus and recover.
“Globally, there has been high demand for essential equipment to treat COVID-19, so these ventilators, will make a significant impact in providing critical care to those patients worst affected, across the country,” said Dr N. Paranietharan, WHO Representative to Indonesia.
“Working in solidarity, we are able to address some of the vital health needs.”
The ventilators will be distributed around the country to health facilities in critical need with the next shipment of ventilators to arrive in the coming days.
Caption: Dr Vinod Kumar Bura (third from right), on behalf of WHO, with UNDP and IOM representatives offering a placard to the National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB) during the symbolic ventilator handover ceremony on 2 June 2020. Credit: UNDP Indonesia
Main image caption: The first shipment of ventilators arrived in Jakarta at the end of May and will be distributed to health facilities around the country. Credit: WHO Indonesia