Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia (RI) Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that there were three targets given by the President to the Ministry of Health related to efforts to improve the quality of public health. First, organizing vaccination as soon as possible. Second, handling the pandemic for Indonesia’s economic recovery. Third, reforming the health sector totally. According to Budi, to achieve these three targets, collaboration and synergy are needed from various parties, both from the government, academics, the community, and non-governmental organizations.
One example is the success in handling the pandemic in Indonesia, which is the result of collaboration between the government and researchers from the Faculty of Public Health (FKM) of Universitas Indonesia (UI) in identifying viruses and measuring community strength through antibody surveys of the population. This was conveyed by Budi in his speech at the 62nd Anniversary of the Faculty of Dentistry (FKG) UI, on Thursday (8/12).
Apart from handling the pandemic, the Minister of Health also emphasized the importance of the third target, which is transformation in the health sector. There are six main components that are the focus of this transformation, which are primary services, referral services, health resilience systems, health financing systems, health human resources (HR), and health technology. Budi assessed that this transformation needs to be carried out because health services in Indonesia are still not evenly distributed until now.
“According to the regulation of the World Health Organization (WHO), the ratio of the population to doctors is 1:1000. This means, if Indonesia’s population is 270 million people, Indonesia needs 270 thousand doctors, whereas currently Indonesia only has 120 thousand doctors. Meanwhile, for the needs of dentists, with a population of 270 million people, Indonesia ideally should have 90 thousand dentists, but currently there are only 39 thousand. dentists. No matter how sophisticated distribution science is, health care coverage will not be evenly distributed if there are not enough doctors,” said Budi.
Rector of UI Prof. Ari Kuncoro, S.E., M.A., Ph.D. also conveyed the importance of collective efforts to achieve equal distribution of health services in Indonesia. As an academic institution, UI plays a role in creating innovations whose benefits do not only stop among the academics but must also be felt directly by the community. Prof. Ari believed that publication citations in scientific journals for health sciences are only 30–40% and for the rest, researchers must fulfill academic reputation, engagement, and collaboration.
“This is a message that a university cannot be “smart” alone, in its own place producing a formula then tomorrow it will become powerful. There must be engagement. In modern higher education management, publication is important as a ticket to academic ability, but universities must also show more than that. Basic research is important, but the downstream for the community is more important because basically health science is a service,” said Prof. Ari.
As the best Faculty of Dentistry in Indonesia, FKG UI has achieved various achievements which continue to be improved every year. FKG UI academics continue to achieve various achievements, both at the national and international levels. In 2022, FKG UI’s ranking at the international level has managed to rank 3rd in Southeast Asia, 18th in Asia, and 87th out of 605 universities in the world. This data was obtained from Scimago Ranking 2022 assessment.
“For 62 years FKG UI has been established at the UI Salemba Campus and has produced 3,587 dentists, 1,317 dental specialists, 124 masters, and 130 doctors spread all over Indonesia to devote themselves to developing the nation, especially in the health sector. Various efforts have been made so that we continue to be excellent and at the forefront by adhering to the Three Pillars of Higher Education, which are education, research, and community service. In order to make all of this happen, FKG UI continues to increase collaboration and synergy with various parties.” said Dean of FKG UI Dr. drg. Nia Ayu Ismaniati, MDSc., Sp.Ort(K).
This collaboration is realized through the signing of a memorandum of understanding and cooperation agreements with various partners. On that occasion, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Universitas Indonesia and Bank Syariah Indonesia. Meanwhile, the cooperation agreement was also signed by FKG UI with several partners, including PT Medikaloka Hermina, PT Paragon Innovation & Technology, Mandiri Amal Insani Foundation, Bank Mandiri, Rumah Sakit khusus Gigi dan Mulut (RSKGM) FKG UI, Graduate School of Dentistry Tohoku University, and Saveetha Institute of Medical & Technical Science India.
In the event entitled “62 Tahun FKG UI, Senantiasa Berkomitmen Menciptakan Dokter Gigi Yang Unggul dan Berinovasi untuk Kemajuan Dunia Kesehatan Tanah Air” (62 Years of FKG UI, Always Committed to Creating Excellent Dentists and Innovating for the Advancement of the World’s Health in Indonesia), awards were also given to FKG UI academics. The award consists of several categories, which are the predicate of Dedicated Lecturer, Innovative Lecturer, Excellent Researcher, Student (Excellent and Innovative, Excellent and Potential, and Excellent and Dedicated), and Dedicated Academic Personnel. At the same time, appreciation was also given to the lecturers and academic personnel who were entering retirement this year.
The highlight of the 62nd Anniversary of FKG UI which took place at Makara Art Center UI Building was also attended by Director General of Health Workers Drg. Arianti Anaya, MKM.; Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation drg. Nurtami, Ph.D., Sp,OF(K); Secretary of UI dr. Agustin Kusumayati, M.Sc., Ph.D.; as well as the Deans, School Directors, and Director of the Vocational Education Program UI.
