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New BPOM head vows to strengthen supervision
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The new head of the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM), Penny Kusumastuti Lukito, signs a document following her inauguration at the State Palace on Wednesday, as President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo looks on. (Courtesy of the Presidential Office/-)
T
he newly appointed head of the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM), Penny Kusumastuti Lukito, has expressed her commitment to strengthen the agency's monitoring functions as demanded by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.
Jokowi on Wednesday inaugurated Penny to take the helm of the BPOM in a ceremony at the State Palace. Previously, she served as an official at the National Development Planning Ministry.
"Our task is to strengthen the surveillance systems of medicine and food to safeguard public health, the safety of the nation and the future of our nation, of course, our children," Penny said after her inauguration, adding that the next challenge is to improve management of medicine and food.
(Read also : Only BPOM has capacity and duty to check vaccine contents: Doctor)
Aside from improving the system and management, she also committed to build better cooperation with relevant partners, including the Health Ministry.
"In the supervision, there are two important things, namely independence and the follow-up of supervision. We're still weak on that. That's what we want to strengthen with full support from the President," she said.
Among the urgent tasks of the agency is to clean up the market of the fake vaccines that had become a national issue and sparked outrage among parents who feared their children were exposed to the fakes. Doctors say that only the BPOM has the capability and duty to monitor the content of the vaccines. (bbn)
