JAKARTA, March 8 – Indonesia, through its Indonesian Agency for International Development (Indonesian AID), has dispatched 10 million doses of polio vaccine to Afghanistan, benefitting 3.3 million children under the age of three.
The donation of vaccines, produced by Indonesia’s vaccine manufacturer, Bio Farma, underscores the country’s commitment to the Afghan people, according to the Foreign Affairs Ministry in a statement.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) will coordinate the transportation and distribution of the vaccines in partnership with Afghan authorities.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, in citing the UN World Food Programme, stated that Afghanistan now faces a challenging humanitarian situation, with about 23.7 million Afghans needing help.
She emphasised Indonesia’s duty to help, citing a request from Afghanistan for polio vaccine donations and Indonesia’s expertise in producing and exporting such vaccines.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati stressed Indonesian AID’s founding principles, stressing solidarity among developing nations and alignment with goals under the Sustainable Development Goals.
The agency has provided development grants totaling 356.58 billion rupiah (US$22.87 million) to 49 friendly nations, including Palestine, Ukraine, Myanmar, and Fiji over its four-year tenure, she added.
Indonesian AID, managed by the Finance Ministry, oversees the allocation of international development cooperation funds to help foreign governments or institutions.
