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Health Ministry to cut health equipment imports this year
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Workers finish making face masks at PT Multi One Plus, Gunung Putri, Bogor regency, West Java, on April 15, 2020. (Antara/Yulius Satria Wijaya)
T
he Health Ministry plans to swap this year Rp 6.5 trillion (US$449.5 million) worth of imported health equipment with locally made versions in steering government spending to favor Indonesian manufacturers.
Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said in a press conference on Tuesday that the funds would be used to purchase 5,462 medical items that included syringes, hospital beds, alcohol swabs and oxygen masks, among other equipment.
With the swap, the ministry would raise the amount of locally made medical equipment purchases this year from 1,686 items to 7,148 items, or 17 percent of the total planned purchases.
"With the purchase of the 5,462 pieces of medical equipment, we can bring the money to the local producers," said Budi.
The swap marks another government strategy to revive the country’s manufacturing sector, which contracted 1.38 percent year-on-year in the first quarter this year. The sector is both a major contributor to employment and to gross domestic product (GDP).
At the same time, the government tripled its annual COVID-19-related healthcare stimulus to Rp 176.3 trillion this year, the second-biggest budget allocation in the national economic recovery (PEN) fund after incentives for small businesses.
Read also: Government pledges higher spending boost to focus on health
