JAKARTA -FIRST came the bad news from Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati that Indonesia’s gross domestic product growth forecast for 2021 had been slashed to between 3.7 and 4.5 per cent, from 5 and 7 per cent previously. With rising Covid-19 cases, much of the country is now in lockdown, forcing many businesses to close and whole sectors to come to a grinding halt.

Office occupancy rates have fallen to below 80 per cent, the lowest in five years as employees are forced to work from home. Restaurants and malls are shuttered, putting millions of jobs on the line.

Then came the hammer blow: The World Bank announced that Indonesia had fallen back into the lower-middle income category after only a few short years in the upper-middle income group as the country’s gross national income (GNI) per capita was estimated at US$3,670 – 5.5 per cent below the new threshold for upper-middle income countries.

It is not an overstatement to say that Indonesia is now facing both an economic and a health crisis that is testing the government of President Joko Widodo to its very limits, almost to breaking point. The government’s response to the second Covid wave which hit the country in late May has been both poor and late.

The Covid-19 tsunami was anticipated, given the global crisis since early 2020, and not least, what had engulfed India earlier in the year. In early June, as the total number of active cases in Indonesia began to double every eight days, the government began to take notice and on July 3, Java and Bali went into lockdown – measures which have since been expanded across the country.

With cases having exceeded 50,000 a day, the situation is dire with hospitals in many regions running out of oxygen and medical supplies. Temporary field hospitals have been set up in many cities, including Jakarta, to deal with the surge. The Red Cross has warned that Indonesia is “on the edge of catastrophe” as Covid-19 infections, fuelled by the deadly Delta variant, are pushing the health system towards collapse.

HOSPITALS OVERWHELMED

Indonesia has experienced many natural disasters in the past, but a pandemic is very different and this is perhaps where the first mistake was made. Initially, the head of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), a three-star general, was put in charge of managing the response to the health crisis. The task force established under his supervision reported directly to the president but was later demoted to a task force under the chief executive of the policy committee.

The chair of this committee is the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, supported by six deputy chairmen – Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs; Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs; Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Cultural Affairs; Minister of Finance; Minister of Health; and the Minister of Home Affairs.

“It is increasingly clear that economic interests dominate in the handling of the pandemic even though many economists stated that health must be at the forefront,” said Faisal Basri, head of the advisory board of the Indonesia Research & Strategic Analysis (IRSA).

“Unlike crises caused by wars, earthquakes, floods that damage economic facilities, especially production facilities, the health crisis does not damage anything. When the pandemic is under control, production facilities will automatically move back to normal,” he said. “Saving lives is saving the economy.”

While the nationwide lockdown will hopefully help stabilise health conditions, the greater imperative is to look beyond the crisis so that both the nation and the people can emerge stronger. The Covid crisis has clearly shown that years of under-investment in the healthcare system has handicapped the country in its response to the pandemic.

The current situation is chaotic with hospitals overwhelmed and pharmacies near collapse, as demand for medicine and healthcare surged. The country’s overly bureaucratic system for admissions into public hospitals has not helped either.

But can the pandemic be the catalyst to transform Indonesia’s healthcare sector? Is technology the answer and how can it be leveraged to improve the healthcare sector?

If data is the new gold, Indonesia has not tapped its vast resources when it comes to healthcare. Currently, there is no central data system for patients and illnesses as individual hospitals jealously guard their patient data, not willing to share such information resources. This must change if the country is to deal effectively with future pandemics.

CHANGING BEHAVIOURS

Lack of credible data, poor reporting systems and inaccurate studies have also hampered epidemiologists and researchers from various disciplines in conducting proper research on the spread and scale of the pandemic in the country, said Mr Basri.

Without proper data, the health authorities will not be able to allocate the necessary resources, identify potential hot spots so vaccines can be delivered in a timely manner, and develop a long-term strategy to tackle future outbreaks.

The healthcare system can learn from other industries in this regard by creating an ecosystem where data is shared, and public and private hospitals collaborate not just with each other but with telemedicine players. Data analytics should drive decision-making within the sector not just in tackling the current pandemic, but also in identifying various long-term illnesses that affect Indonesians.

Several healthtech startups such as Halodoc are already making a difference by linking hospitals to pharmacies and providing online consultations. Patients no longer have to endure long waiting times in hospitals and clinics, thus improving productivity and lowering possible infections.

The pandemic has proven that Indonesians can change their spending behaviour if required. E-commerce is booming even as bricks-and-mortar retail outlets succumb to closures. Restaurants are pivoting to delivery and revamping their kitchens to cater to growing online orders.

Covid-19 is currently ravaging communities and families across the country but it will eventually pass. The question is – will Indonesia waste this crisis or use it to transform its healthcare sector and bring it in line with 21st century standards by leveraging on technology, data analytics and artificial intelligence.