The government continues to strengthen efforts to accelerate the elimination of tuberculosis (TB) in Indonesia through various comprehensive strategies, including increased surveillance or early detection, effective treatment, and vaccine administration. Indonesia is currently the country with the second largest number of TB patients in the world after India, with an estimated 1,060,000 cases and 134,000 deaths per year due to TB.

To achieve the TB elimination target by 2030, new vaccine innovations are needed to provide better protection for the community against the disease.

The Indonesian Ministry of Health continues to strive to realize national pharmaceutical and medical device resilience, from research and development to market assurance for domestic products. One of the main strategies is to have the capacity to develop 14 national program vaccine antigens and also for neglected tropical diseases such as TB, Malaria, Dengue.

Indonesia is currently participating in a phase 3 clinical trial for the M72/AS01E TB vaccine conducted at 60 sites in seven countries, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and the Wellcome Trust. In September 2024, Indonesia became the fourth country to carry out enrollment after South Africa, Kenya, Zambia.

On September 20, 2024, Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin, accompanied by Director General of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices L. Rizka Andalucia, monitored the implementation of recruitment at one of the clinical trial implementation loci, in East Jakarta. This activity involved several national researchers such as Prof. Dr. dr. Erlina Burhan, Sp. P(K), National Principal Investigator, and Prof. Dr. Sri Rezeki Hadinegoro, dr., SpA(K) Principal Investigator site FK UI. Also present was the Head of DKI Jakarta Provincial Health Office, drg. Ani Ruspitawati, M.M, as well as the Head of the Health Office and the Head of the Puskesmas involved in the research.

Ani Ruspitawati, in her speech said that the DKI Jakarta Health Office encourages rewards for areas that succeed in keeping their areas free from TB, and emphasized the readiness of puskesmas in DKI to become research locations for community-based clinical trials. She also expressed her gratitude for the trust given to Dinkes DKI and is fully committed to supporting research activities.

Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin expressed his appreciation to all research teams and technical teams who have contributed to the implementation of this clinical trial. He emphasized that the Ministry of Health will continue to oversee the TB vaccine phase 3 clinical trial process in Indonesia to produce safe, quality and useful products and ensure that this vaccine becomes a solution in supporting the elimination of TB in the country by 2030.