Indonesia

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Environment
People walk through Terowongan 4444, built from plastic bottles collected from several rivers around the city in three years, constructed by an Indonesian environmental activist group.

Indonesia: Why Planetary Health Should Be on the Menu for the G20 Chair

by Renzo R. Guinto, Jemilah Mahmood

President Joko Widodo has the opportunity to champion a "planetary health" approach

Governance
a farmer wearing a mask plows a field

Indonesia's Foreign Policy and the COVID-19 Pandemic

by Fitriani

Jakarta tests a new foreign policy strategy on the challenges created by COVID-19

A woman walks past a banner depicting Indonesian President Joko Widodo promoting awareness of the coronavirus disease in Jakarta, Indonesia on September 28, 2020.
Governance

COVID-19 and Democracy in Indonesia: Short-Term Stability and Long-Term Threats

by Thomas Pepinsky

The lasting implications of the pandemic could undermine the quality of Indonesian democracy

A health worker wearing protective suit and patients exercise at the Patriot Chandrabhaga Stadium which has been converted into a quarantine house amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Bekasi, on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia
Governance

Indonesia Charts an Innovative Path on COVID-19 Vaccination

by Ali H. Mokdad, Laksono Trisnantoro, Samuel Ostroff, Ruri Syailendrawati, Iqbal Elyazar

Poised for an ambitious vaccine rollout, the country must use all tools available to mitigate the worst of the pandemic

Firefighters wearing protective suits spray disinfectant at the National Monument area to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Jakarta, Indonesia, on June 17, 2020. Photo shows several workers in bright red protective suits walking though an open area spraying from tanks they carry on their backs. A monument can be seen in the background. REUTERS/Antara Foto/Wahyu Putro
Governance

Southeast Asia Needs Its Own CDC

by Swee Kheng Khor, Jeremy Lim, Li Yang Hsu, Jemilah Mahmood

COVID-19 is a baptism by fire and highlights the need for an effective, durable disease control authority in the region

A Buddhist monk adjusts his protective face mask before a blessing ceremony for the people affected by the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, at a temple in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on February 22, 2020. This is a striking image with the monk in the foreground and some very colourful Buddhist temple features in the background. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng
Governance

Why is Southeast Asia Responding Differently to COVID-19?

by Swee Kheng Khor

Fundamental differences and objectives between nation states in Southeast Asia influence their responses to COVID-19

You wouldn’t know it from this image of hustle-bustle on the streets of the Mong Kok district in Hong Kong on Oct. 4, 2011, but the workforce in many Asian economic powerhouses is steadily shrinking. Picture shows the street from above, a wide pedestrian walkway with broad yellow lines painted at an angle. Dozens of people can be seen in the frame, all blurred due to fast movement and a slow shutter. REUTERS/Bobby Yip
Aging

Lessons From an Aging Asia

by Erin Gallagher, Sheila A. Smith

How will demographic shifts affect workforce, health care, gender equality, disaster response, and societal well-being?

Photo shows a digital rendering of the 2019-nCoV virion.
Governance

Dr. Tom Frieden on the Politics of Epidemics

by Tom Frieden

Health protection can fight disease, reduce economic losses, and save lives

People waiting at Fatmawati hospital in Jakarta on May 17, 2013, after Indonesia announced plans to implement nationwide health care, with the aim to covering all Indonesians by the end of the decade. The picture shows a crowded waiting room with a man in the foreground with a red cloth draped over his head and holding what appears to be a bag of ice against his cheek. He looks like he is suffering. REUTERS/Beawiharta.
Trade

The March of Private Health Care in Southeast Asia

by Swee Kheng Khor

How can a government achieve universal coverage for all citizens in a landscape where private care is deeply entrenched?

Migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh in Thailand's southern Songkhla province on May 9, 2015. In 2001 Thailand launched a health insurance scheme for migrants and expanded it to dependents in 2005. Picture shows a triangle of men sitting cross-legged looking at the camera. REUTERS/Surapan Boonthanom.
Migration

The Geopolitics of Polio in Southeast Asia

by Swee Kheng Khor

The risk of re-emergence highlights the looming political choices Southeast Asia now needs to make to protect its people

A nurse takes a photograph during a rally in front of the Government House in Bangkok October 16, 2012. Nurses attending the rally demanded better working conditions and full-time jobs, asking the government to improve job security by offering permanent contracts. The nurse stands in her white outfit against a sea of brightly colored umbrellas.
Trade

Southeast Asia’s Big Export to the World: Health Professionals

by Swee Kheng Khor

What long-term effect will the brain drain have on SE Asia, on top of a current shortfall of 700,000 doctors and nurses?