WHO and Ministry of Health distribute COVID-19 test kits to enhance case detection
Test kits procured and distributed by WHO is estimated at almost US$1.5 million (Rp. 21M) and have been made possible through the support of the Govt of Japan
As part of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) collaboration with the Indonesian Ministry of Health to enhance COVID-19 case detection and help strengthen Indonesia’s laboratories, WHO is supporting the procurement and distribution of vital COVID-19 test kits.
In late June, a delivery including 2,178 real-time fluorescent RT-PCR (polymerase chain reaction test) kits, 126 nucleic acid extraction kits and 1,815 disposable sampling kits was passed to the National Institute of Health and Research Development (NIHRD). These kits can conduct around 108,900 tests. The kits will now be distributed to laboratories across the country that are part of the national COVID-19 lab network.
Widespread and proactive testing for COVID-19 can lead to the quick identification of cases, therefore enabling quick treatment and isolation for those people and quarantine of anyone they may have met while infectious.
To monitor the transmission of disease, WHO set a case detection benchmark where one suspected person is tested per 1,000 population per week. Having adequate supplies and appropriate testing equipment available across the country are essential to achieving the level of testing needed to meet the benchmark and effectively respond to outbreaks as they are identified.
Since the first patients of COVID-19 were identified in March, WHO has supplied Indonesia with an additional 520 kits (providing 52,000 reactions), as well as 235 primers and probes (23,500 reactions). Personal protective equipment – including 200 gloves, 1,000 gowns, 500 protective goggles and 640 masks – were also delivered in March.
A delivery of 1,000 viral transport media (VTM), which enable the safe transfer of virus samples for further testing and research, is expected to arrive by the end of July.
The value of these test kits procured and distributed by WHO is estimated at almost US$1.5 million (Rp. 21,851,424,000) and have been made possible through the support of the Government of Japan.
Main image caption: Additional test kits, including primers and probes, are being distributed across Indonesia to strengthen COVID-19 case detection. Credit: Subangkit/NIHRD
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