Two Health Innovations Supported by USAID Jalin Project Win Awards

December 09, 2020

Two innovations supported by the DAI-led, U.S. Agency for International Development-funded Jalin project recently received Indonesia Healthcare Innovation Awards in the categories of “Healthcare Movement for Healthy Women Workers” and “Information and Communication Technology in the Health Sector.”

The awards, organized annually by the Indonesia Healthcare Forum (IndoHCF), recognize agencies, individuals, groups, academics, and other parties that have successfully developed and implemented innovations to support national health programs and improve health services in Indonesia. A total of 138 innovators across the country were considered for the awards and shortlisted to include 10 nominees for five categories.

In the first award, USAID Jalin collaborated with the Semarang City Health Office, the Central Java Provincial Health Office, and partner garment factories to improve access to quality maternal and newborn health (MNH) services for female factory workers through its MNH in the Workplace initiative. The Gepuk Pepes program strengthens the services and facilities of existing factory clinics, improves health promotion and prevention programs, and improves company policies to support maternal and child health. The workplace-based initiative represents an innovative approach to improving the health and wellbeing of female factory workers while also benefitting employers.

In the second award, USAID Jalin, the National Ministry of Health, and Perkumpulan Obstetri dan Ginekologi Indonesia (Indonesian Association for Obstetrics and Gynecology) collaborated to develop the Maternal and Perinatal Death Notification (MPDN) tool and socialize its use to all health facilities in Indonesia. MPDN is a digital reporting application that updates Indonesia’s manual death reporting system and will help to ensure real-time and accurate reporting of maternal and perinatal deaths across the country.

A staff member of the Indonesian Ministry of Health opens the MPDN application on her desktop.

Dr. Danu Maryoto Teguh, one of the doctors who initiated MPDN, said, “I felt very proud [to receive the award]. MPDN is a fruit of my passion that is aligned with my specialty. It is a masterpiece [that was realized] with the help of Jalin.”

The award winners will receive financial and in-kind equipment support as incentives to continue and scale-up their innovations. The judging panel represented 18 different institutions, including the Indonesian Ministry of Health, Ministry of Research and Technology, and Indonesian Institute of Sciences. The Indonesian Minister of Health, Terawan Agus Putranto, shared his aspiration during his speech at the event: “Hopefully, the awards can strengthen our determination to innovate towards self-reliance as a nation full of innovation.”