JAKARTA, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia's Health Ministry has raised its tuberculosis detection target to 1 million cases next year, up from 900,000 cases this year, as part of its efforts to eliminate the disease from the Southeast Asian country by 2030.
"This increase in the target is part of a broader strategy to eradicate tuberculosis in Indonesia, with a focus on improving detection and treatment," said Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin at a high-level meeting on tuberculosis innovation held on the resort island of Bali on Monday.
Indonesia has seen annual increases in tuberculosis case detection, from 400,000 cases in 2021 to 700,000 cases in 2022, and 840,000 cases in 2023.
The government is actively seeking ways to improve monitoring and testing, including utilizing existing equipment and exploring more efficient and precise technologies.
Sadikin said that to reach the target of 1 million cases, 7-8 million people need to be tested every year in the country.
In addition to using 2,000 molecular rapid test machines, Indonesia is also leveraging 1,000 COVID-19 test machines scattered across provinces to support tuberculosis testing and plans to begin producing a tuberculosis vaccine by the end of 2028. ■
