KATHMANDU, OCOTBER 04

On the 31st of August, Indonesia gave its 100 millionth dose of COVID-19 vaccine – a major milestone for one of the most COVID-affected countries in the world with about 270 million people and a challenging archipelagic geography.

Indonesia is now one of only seven countries to have achieved the feat.

The Indonesian Government deserves recognition.

It has successfully coordinated health resources across the country and has allocated US$14.9 billion to its health sector response so far. Indonesia was also one of the first countries in the world to announce free COVID-19 vaccinations for its adult population. The Indonesian vaccination program recently expanded to include the 12-17 year-old age group and is currently administering over 1.2 million doses a day, nearly a 10-fold increase since mid-May 2021.

While still a way to go, the Government is ambitious and pushing for full country-wide vaccination in the first quarter of 2022. We would like to share two valuable insights which have helped Indonesia get to this position.

A version of this article appears in the print on October 5, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.