Indonesia -Dutch research project on Resilient Healthcare Systems awarded
NWO and KemendikbudRistek have funded two new projects in the Indonesia – Netherlands collaboration research programme. The project is characterised by an impact plan approach focusing on the prevention of new zoonotic pathogen outbreaks and pandemic preparedness. TPM researcher Zenlin Kwee is project leader of the project ‘PARAATHEID’. The consortium is interdisciplinary and involves partners from the public, semi-public and private sector.
The project is funded through the Call for proposals ‘Resilient healthcare systems for pathogens outbreak preparedness’. This call aims to support research on preparing health care systems so that we can better plan for preventing new worldwide outbreaks in the light of the ‘existence and spreading’ of ‘new’ infectious diseases in urban environments (such as zoonosis). This requires collaboration among multiple sectors for promoting and protecting population health and addressing health inequalities, as well as investigating biomedical, clinical, behavioural and social aspects.
Building resilient healthcare systems
Our experience with the recent COVID-19 pandemic has taught us the importance of having a reliable healthcare system that is capable of preventing, detecting, and responding to infectious disease outbreaks. The PARAATHEID research project aims at protecting public health by developing a guideline for investing in a resilient healthcare system that includes, among others, strengthening monitoring systems, improving healthcare capacity, empowering community to promote public health behaviours (such as daily hygiene and social distancing). In doing so, healthcare systems will be able to better prepare and respond to infectious disease outbreaks, ultimately reducing economic and social costs of pandemics.
