On Monday (18/5/2022), the General Directorate of P2P (Disease Prevention and Control) from the Ministry of Health visited the SLST ITB laboratory to observe the readiness of the supporting facilities. The WGS device was first handed to the Rector of ITB in Meeting Room A before the attendees went to SLST in the main campus. The General Director of P2P was accompanied by the Co-Coordinator of TBC and ISPA, the Laboratory Team of TBC and ISPA, and the Law, Organization, and Public Relations Team of P2P. Those representing ITB SLST are the Faculty's Dean, Vice Dean of Resources, Vice Dean of Academic, members of the genomic team, and Dr. Fenny Martha Dwivany.

The Ministry of Health gave 18 WGS devices to be operated at 17 chosen laboratories. This was done to counter the COVID-19 cases, anticipate the worst-case scenarios of future pandemics, and conduct studies in the field of health. Hence, it is necessary to boost examinations of genomic surveillance in laboratories by distributing these machines throughout Indonesia, one of which is at ITB.

According to the General Director of P2P, Dr. dr. Maxi Rein Rondonuwu, DHSM., MARS., the device can be operated to investigate other diseases, both infectious and non-infectious. Moreover, equipping the device in universities will immensely assist more health-based research.

“The Minister of Health would like to collaborate with universities to maximize the utilization of the WGS machines. We hope these devices can strengthen the supervision of various diseases like TBC,” dr. Maxi commented.

Prof. Reini Wirahadikusumah, the ITB Rector, thanked the Ministry of Health for entrusting the WGS device to ITB. She emphasized that it would help many professors and researchers in their studies.

“Aside from trust, this machine can provide wider ranges of health services while following the government mandate," she added. "It will have a bigger impact on society."

Reporter: Adi Permana
Translator: Ruth Nathania (Environmental Engineering, 2019)