Indonesia's National Cancer Plan Emphasizes Global Partnerships

Indonesia has launched its new National Cancer Control Plan for 2024-2034, incorporating key insights and recommendations from two recent missions conducted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). These included an imPACT review in July 2024 and an earlier mission in March 2023. The announcement was made by Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin during the Indonesia International Cancer Conference. The plan focuses on expanding radiotherapy and nuclear medicine services across 34 provinces in Indonesia, in line with the prioritized recommendations provided by IAEA experts.

“This National Cancer Control Plan is expected to harmonize all stakeholder interventions to reduce cancer incidence, improve survival rates, and enhance the quality of life for those affected by cancer”, said Sadikin during his opening remarks at the conference. “I want to express my gratitude and appreciation to all stakeholders and partners that have supported the development of this national strategy”, he added. 

Carried out jointly by the IAEA, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an imPACT Review is a comprehensive assessment of a country’s cancer control capacity and needs. This was the second such review performed in Indonesia, with the participating experts taking note of the many steps taken to advance cancer prevention and control since the previous assessment in 2018.

Cervical cancer is a priority in Indonesia, accounting for 18 per cent of cancer-related deaths among women. Rates of cervical cancer can be reduced through human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and effective screening to diagnose and initiate treatment in earlier stages. Partha Basu from the IARC said: “Indonesia has demonstrated its commitment to eliminating cervical cancer by introducing the HPV vaccine in 2023, initially targeting more than two million girls in the fifth and sixth grades. The goal is for 90 per cent of the target population to be vaccinated. This, combined with the latest initiative to scale up HPV detection-based screening across the country, will accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer in this highly populated country”. 

Childhood cancer is also a priority for the Government, which is committed to meeting the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer target of at least a 60 per cent survival rate for six common childhood cancers by 2030. In 2022, it was estimated that over 12 000 children up to the age of 19 were affected by cancer in Indonesia (Globocan 2022). To help the country address this challenge and increase early diagnosis and care for children with cancer, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital was actively engaged in the July imPACT mission as the WHO Collaborating Centre for Childhood Cancer and as the technical and financial partner in implementing WHO’s global initiative.  

“Working with the Ministry and key hospitals and foundations across six provinces to date, our team at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is pleased and committed to continue strengthening collaborations in education, capacity building, research, and advocacy and resource mobilization in Indonesia as part of our St. Jude Global Alliance.  It has been particularly encouraging to work with the Ministry and local paediatric oncology professional and civil society community to apply health systems and policy tools over multiple months together to complement the valuable in-person imPACT review site visits and discussions”, said Catherine Lam, Director at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Childhood Cancer at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.   

Another partner actively involved in the mission was MD Anderson Cancer Center. Their existing partnerships in the country strengthened professional development, in particular for cervical cancer, medical oncology and pathology. “Our team at MD Anderson is honored to collaborate with the Ministry of Health and Dharmais Cancer Hospital on projects to reduce the burden of cancer in Indonesia. We have been partnering on cervical cancer prevention, breast cancer treatment as well as the strengthening of pathology and radiology services. Participating in the imPACT review helped our team further focus our efforts, particularly in the areas of pathology, medical oncology and the elimination of cervical cancer in Indonesia”, said Kathleen Schmeler, Director of the MD Anderson Cancer Center .  

During the imPACT mission, several interviews and roundtable discussions were held that built on South-South cooperation, strengthening relationships with regional centres of excellence, such as the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital in India. The Ministry of Health expressed interest in establishing a National Cancer Hospital Network (GRID) like the India Network of Cancer Hospitals. Follow up discussions on this will be held with the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for South-East Asia (WHO SEARO) and the Tata Memorial Hospital for potential technical support and professional exchanges. The Indonesia International Cancer Conference in October 2024 was also an opportunity for the IAEA to further engage with key stakeholders in Indonesia, explore synergies, and present the IAEA’s flagship initiative Rays of Hope.  

“Remarkable steps have been taken by Indonesia to improve its health services for cancer diagnosis and treatment,” said Petra Salama, the IAEA’s Project Management Officer for Indonesia. “The thorough review conducted as part of this mission has provided valuable information on which to base future technical cooperation projects. The IAEA stands ready to support Indonesia to address the country’s cancer burden”, she added.