U.S. and Indonesia Celebrate Successful Collaboration Under the USAID COVID-19 Assistance Program

JAKARTA – Yesterday, the United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Indonesian Ministry of Health celebrated their successful collaboration under the United States’ COVID-19 assistance program.

Over the course of the pandemic, USAID worked closely with the Government of Indonesia to provide more than $65 million of pandemic assistance to Indonesia.  USAID’s COVID-19 support reached more than 90 percent of Indonesians — more than 260 million people — while supporting more than 840,000 frontline healthcare workers and strengthening almost 2,000 hospitals, clinics, and laboratories to fight the pandemic.  In addition, as the largest donor to COVAX, with a total commitment of $4 billion, USAID helped deliver more than 100 million vaccine doses to Indonesia, including 42 million donated directly from the United States.

“In the face of this unprecedented challenge, Indonesia and the United States stood together to confront the pandemic and together, we have dramatically reduced deaths and severe illness,” said U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission Michael F. Kleine.  “Together, we are more resilient to withstand future health challenges.”

During the initial period of USAID’s COVID-19 assistance to Indonesia, from 2020 to 2021, the emergency health response focused on patient care and case management, coordination and policy recommendations, and strengthening laboratory capacity.  In 2021 to 2023, USAID’s COVID-19 support expanded to accelerating widespread and equitable access to and delivery of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccinations, including in hard-to-reach areas.  In addition to helping get “shots in arms,” a significant part of the USAID-supported vaccination work related to communication campaigns, data management and use, and reaching vulnerable and at-risk populations, such as the elderly.

“We appreciate all the support in strengthening surveillance, treatment, vaccinations, and health protocol strategies.  This pandemic provides lessons for Indonesia to strengthen the capacity to deal with COVID-19 and anticipate other pandemics in the future,” said the Vice Minister of Health, Dante Saksono.  “As we are closing this pandemic response partnership, we believe that our strong partnership will continue in the coming years.  Only together can we rise and grow stronger.”

The U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia built on more than $5 billion in bilateral assistance over the past 20 years, including more than $1 billion to help Indonesia strengthen its health systems.  USAID looks forward to continuing to build on its strong relationship with the Government of Indonesia to address other important health issues, including in tuberculosis, maternal and newborn health, and emerging infectious diseases.  

For more information, visit https://www.usaid.gov/id/indonesia or contact USAID Communications Specialist Swiny Andina at +62 (21) 5083-1000 or sandina@usaid.gov.