Jakarta, May 8, 2022

Director General of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices, Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia Dr. L. Rizka Andalucia, Apt. was elected as a Sovereign Investor Board Member of Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) for the period of 2022-2025, after voting from March to April 2022. This is the first time Indonesia has been elected as a Board Member of CEPI.

The position was previously occupied by UK representative Professor Charlotte Watts, whose term had expired. Dr. Rizka competed with two other candidates, Dr. Atul Gawande from the US CDC and Prof. Charlotte Watts from the UK in this election.

CEPI is an international coalition of governments, academia, and inter-philanthropic, private, and public organizations with the vision of creating a world free from epidemic and pandemic threats. CEPI's mission is to accelerate the development of vaccines and other biological responses to epidemic and pandemic threats to make them accessible to all who need them, and the rapid and sustainable production of vaccines in low- and middle-income countries to improve preparedness and response to future epidemic/pandemic outbreaks. CEPI's 100-day mission is for the world to have a safe and effective vaccine within 100 days of an epidemic or pandemic threat.

Rizka's election to sit on the CEPI Board Member shows that Indonesia's position is taken into account in the international world. Indonesia strategically represents a developing country (85% of the world's population) with a large market potential and has a strong commitment to developing vaccine research.

In addition, Rizka is the representative of the 'South' in the current Board Members and will be the voice of the South in improving health resilience and being part of addressing the challenges of the upcoming global pandemic.

The Ministry of Health sees the importance of working with CEPI, to achieve targets and goals in vaccine development. This collaboration also aims to fight infectious diseases and strive for equitable access to vaccines for everyone.

This cooperation was agreed through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which was signed on March 24, 2022. To support CEPI's work program, Indonesia contributed USD 5 million for 5 years and joined the Investor Council (IC) along with 21 countries and 2 philanthropies.

In the annual meeting of CEPI members held in Bergen, Norway, on April 25-26, 2022, the Board Members as the main governing body decided several important matters such as approving the research fund, investment plan and replenishment fund strategy, resource mobilization, as well as several CEPI internal policies.

Indonesia's representative, Rizka, who attended in person, said that the importance of vaccine regional hubs in developing countries such as Indonesia.

“Regional vaccine hubs in developing countries are important to address gaps in vaccine access and to meet global vaccine needs,” he told the meeting.

This view was appreciated by other investor countries and supported by countries such as Mexico, Ethiopia, Japan and Korea. 

“We hope more developing countries will follow in Indonesia's footsteps to build solidarity and international cooperation that is crucial in fighting the pandemic, especially in building resilience and ensuring equitable availability of vaccines around the world,” Rizka said.
Source: Bureau of Communication and Community Services of the Ministry of Health