Prof. Maria Inge Lusida, the Head of the Institute of Tropical Diseases Universitas Airlangga, welcomed the arrival of the Consul General of Japan in Surabaya, Mr. TAKEYAMA Kenichi, at the Institute of Tropical Diseases MEER C Campus UNAIR on Monday, December 12, 2022. The visit was made to strengthen the relationship between the Japanese Consul General and Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR). The leadership had a discussion regarding health problems in Indonesia, especially in East Java.

UNAIR’s collaboration with the Japanese Consul General has been established for a long time, as seen in international publications and partnerships with universities in Japan, including Kobe University. One of the collaborations supported the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia.

Prof. Fedik Abdul Rantam explained that the established collaboration is expected not only in joint publications for academic purposes but also for mutual needs. Two years ago, Covid-19 began to spread, and vaccine production began to be intensified, including the Merah Putih vaccine. The vaccine development involves various parties from the government, six universities, and research institutes.

The challenge we are currently experiencing is that the government is urging imported products to be replaced with our technology. “I am very happy when Mr. Takeyama visited, this is a win-win solution through the cooperation with the Japanese government. It is the result of cooperation between the governments of Indonesia and Japan,” he added.

Furthermore, Prof. Fedik added that we had designed a vaccine model for a new disease. It is expected to be able to replace the imported one, as 30-50% must be made from Indonesia.

In the end, Prof. Fedik hopes for a close relationship, working with universities in Japan that have the potential for further collaboration. One of them is for the diagnostic of dengue fever.

Author: Satrio Dwi Naryo

Editor: Khefti Al Mawalia

Source: news.unair.ac.id