The signing of the MOU on the Pilot Project in Tangerang

09 May 2007

By Mr Khaw Boon Wan

Venue: Jakarta, Indonesia

Bapak Menko Kesra Aburizal Bakrie

Ibu Menteri Kesehatan Dr Siti Fadillah Supari,

Bapak Menteri Pertanian Dr Anton Apriyantono

Distinguished Guests

As neighbours, Indonesia and Singapore have cooperated in public health for years. We know that diseases common to Indonesia will easily find their way to Singapore and vice versa. My public health problem can quickly become yours and the reverse is also true. So on public health matters, it makes good sense for us to help each other and to work closely together.

From the early days of managing malaria, our bilateral cooperation has extended to dengue. It reached a new height in 2003 during SARS. The SARS experience brought our two health ministries very closely together. We made many friends through that experience, from Ministers down to senior doctors and scientists. We know one another well enough to be able to simply pick up the telephone to check or to email.

When the tsunami struck Aceh, the network of friendship built up over the years was put to practical use. Working with our medical friends in Batam, our doctors rendered their help in Aceh. Then when the earthquake in Jogjakarta struck last year, we extended a similar level of help.  

But bird flu is bound to affect all of us to a more significant level. It is likely to be much worse than SARS. It has now spread to 55 countries, from Asia to Africa. More than 300 people have contracted this disease; more than half have died. This is what keeps Health Ministers awake at night. And not just Health Ministers. Economic Ministers too do not get good sleep.

The good news is that the world seems better placed to prevent and deal with a possible human pandemic than it was a year or two ago. But we can never be sure and it is better to be over-prepared than to under-prepare. It is better to over-react than to under-react. And we improve our odds by working together across international borders.

There in lies the significance of our meeting in Jakarta today. The MOU that we will shortly sign, is a testimony to the political will and firm determination of both Indonesia and Singapore to fight avian influenza together.

Indonesia has been affected by bird flu outbreaks both in poultry and in humans. The Indonesian government has taken a scientific approach and has mobilized the general public to prevent the spread of the epidemic and its transmission to humans. It is a huge challenge, given the size of the country and the population and the long tradition of mixed farming. Singapore will do its best to provide support and to further enhance Indonesia’s efforts in this task.

The pilot project in the Tangerang municipality is a trilateral project involving Singapore, Indonesia and the US, supported by International Organisations such as the WHO, FAO and the REDI Centre. It includes strategies in surveillance of the disease in animals and humans, management of infected patients, control of disease in animals, including restructuring of the poultry farming system, risk communication, and capacity building. We hope the project will yield valuable

lessons that can in turn be applied to other parts of Indonesia.

Let’s all do our best to defeat avian influenza and save human lives.

Thank you.