New Zealand's euthanasia bill passes, referendum to be held

Yahoo – AFP, November 13, 2019

New Zealand's parliament has passed a bill making euthanasia legal, meaning
the issue will now go to a national referendum (AFP Photo/VOISHMEL)

Wellington (AFP) - New Zealand lawmakers voted Wednesday in favour of making euthanasia legal, paving the way for the issue to be put to voters in a referendum next year.

The law, enabling terminally ill people to request a medically assisted death was passed 69-51 at its final reading, ending years of passionate debate in parliament.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has publicly stated her support for euthanasia reform and reluctantly voted for the referendum saying it was the only way of advancing the legislation.

The referendum was a demand of the New Zealand First Party, which threatened to vote against the legislation if it wasn't put to the public -- possibly condemning it to fail.

"New Zealanders elect us, but they do not elect our consciences," New Zealand First MP Tracey Martin said.

The bill sponsor, libertarian MP David Seymour, said before the vote he was confident it would be passed.

"We've had the arguments -- I don't think anyone will ever be able to say that parliament didn't properly scrutinise this bill," he said.

"It's been nearly two years since the parliamentary process started. And over that time we've kicked around every conceivable argument for and against the bill."

While MPs voted, protesters against euthanasia -- carrying placards reading "assist us to live not die" and "euthanasia is not the solution" -- staged a vigil outside parliament.

New Petten reactor for medical isotopes gets financial backing

DutchNews, July 8, 2019 

The existing reactor is due to close in 2025. Photo: Svdmolen via Wikimedia
Commons

Work on a new reactor at the Petten nuclear plant dedicated to producing medical isotopes is due to begin in 2021 after the government announced it had secured financial backing.

The current reactor, which is 60 years old and owned by the European Commission, is due to be closed in 2025. The decision caused alarm in the medical community because Petten produces 30% of the global supplies of medical isotopes, which are used in the treatment of cancer and other serious diseases. 

Heath minister Bruno Bruins wrote in a letter to parliament that a number of interested parties were prepared to finance the project, but did not disclose who they were. 

‘There is still a lot of work to be done, but now that a number of private investors have come forward we can start work in earnest,’ he said. Bruins said a backup plan was being prepared ‘in the unexpected event that the interests of the state cannot be sufficiently safeguarded in the negotiations with private investors.’

FNV members to vote on pension deal, finally agreed after nine years

DutchNews, June 5, 2019

Ministers, unions and employers have reached a deal on reforming the Dutch pension system, nine years after talks first started. 

The agreement, which still has to be voted on by members of the FNV trade union federation, involves a slowdown in the planned increase in the state pension age and gives workers the option to retire early – both of which were key union demands. 

The new deal involves freezing the state retirement age at 66 years and four months for the next two years. After that it will increase in increments until it hits 67 in 2024. 

Then onwards, the state pension age will continue to rise in line with increases in life expectancy – based on an eight month increase for every year we live longer. 

The talks had broken down last November when the unions walked out but resumed earlier this week after ministers indicated some compromises were on the table. 

For example, ministers have agreed to bring in some form of early retirement scheme which is aimed at people doing heavy physical work but which is open to everyone. 

The scheme is most attractive to people on low incomes. Employers will have to pay a fine if workers earning more than €19,000 a year quit early. The money, ministers say, will compensate for the loss of premium and tax income. 

It will also be easier for the self-employed to join a pension fund, but it will not be compulsory. 

Insurance 

However, freelancers will be required by law to take out insurance against becoming unable to work through illness. This, commentators say, was one the demands made by GroenLinks and the social democratic party PvdA in return for their support in steering the deal through the senate. 

There may be an opt-out for people who show they have sufficient reserves to support themselves. Currently just 20% of freelancers have such a policy, and the cost runs into hundreds of euros a month. 

More details about this part of the agreement are due in the coming days. 

Fund changes 

Pension funds will also have the option of offering employees two sorts of pensions – one in which the premium varies in line with interest rates and one in which funds can take more risk – and spread that risk over all participants, broadcaster NOS said. 

Although employers organisations and smaller unions have backed the new plan outright, the FNV has said it is up to the members to decide whether or not to support the new deal.

Chairman Han Busker said he expects a ‘tough discussion’ with members but said the agreement as it now stands is ‘justifiable’.

Government to issue second licence for medicinal cannabis as demand grows

DutchNews, May 27, 2019

The Dutch government is planning to issue a second licence for the production of medicinal cannabis to meet growing demand patients. 

The only company authorised to produce cannabis for medical use, Bedrocan in Emmeloord, has increased its output fivefold in the last five years to 2,604 kilograms. 

Bedrocan received its licence 16 years ago from the Office of Medicinal Cannabis (BMC), which buys the entire stock and distributes it to hospitals and pharmacies. Around half of it is sold abroad to countries including Germany, Italy and Poland. 

The BMC, established by health minister Els Borst in 2000, is expected to start the European tendering process for a second licence in early June. An earlier attempt to issue a second licence for medical cannabis was abandoned after an objection was made to the procedure. 

Bedrocan produces five types of cannabis with different levels of THC and CBD. The main advantage of medicinal cannabis is that the strength and quality of the drug is much more consistent than the varieties grown for commercial use. 

Cannabis sold in ‘coffeeshops’ is also more likely to contain impurities such as pesticides, making it unsuitable for a clinical setting. 

Among the medical community there is growing interest in the use of cannabis as a painkiller, although the Dutch Society of Family Doctors (NHG) maintains there is currently ‘insufficient evidence’ that the drug relieves pain or improves patients’ quality of life. 

Albert Dahan, professor of anaesthesiology at Leiden’s UMC, said further research should be carried out into the effects of using cannabis as a painkiller, especially im combination with drugs such as morphine.

‘I was fairly sceptical in the beginning, so we decided to investigate and saw that thc had a visible effect. I can see there being scope for using cannabis in future,’ he said.

Basic health policy to include more options to promote a healthy lifestyle

DutchNews, June 1, 2018

Junk food has gone up less in price than fruit and veg. Photo: Depositphotos.com

The basic health insurance policy is to be expanded to cover expert advice to help people develop a healthy lifestyle, health minister Bruno Bruins said on Friday.

‘The idea is that we can help someone who has diabetes, not by giving them insulin but by encouraging them to live more healthily,’ the minister said. 

Practitioners who specialise in ‘combined lifestyle interventions’ or GLI – as the health ministry puts it – will be able to bill health insurers for their work from next January. GLI involves combating obesity by encouraging patients to eat less and take more exercise along with psychological help. 

Some options will also be removed from the basic package, such as strong paracetamol pills of 1,000 milligrams, which are only available on prescription. Over the counter vitamin and mineral preparations will also no longer be paid for. 

The government is responsible for deciding what the basic health insurance package should include and insurance companies are supposed to compete on price. They are also free to decide what to include in supplementary policies.

Indonesian Pension Contribution Set to Rise to 8% of Salary

Jakarta Globe, Siprianus Edi Hardum, Apr 09, 2015

Employees' contribution to the pension system could rise to 8 percent
from 5 percent now. (Antara Photo/Fanny Octavianus)

Jakarta. The Indonesian government plans to raise the pension contribution to 8 percent of an employee’s monthly salary starting in July from 5 percent now, said Labor Minister M. Hanif Dhakiri on Wednesday.

The plan is part of a new government regulation draft that aims to revamp the country’s pension system.

“The draft has been finalized. We are only waiting for the harmonization process at the Law and Human Rights Ministry and ratification,” Hanif said.

Hanif did not elaborate on the share of contributions by employees and employers in paying pensions. Currently, employees pay 2 percent of their salary for pension, while their employers pay the remaining 3 percent.

Indonesia started last year a universal pension program under BPJS Ketenagakerjaan, which seeks to cover pensions for all workers nationwide.

The draft includes a clause that requires employees to be in the universal pension program for at least 15 years before making use of the pensions. It also sets the pension age at 56 years old.

GlobeAsia

Related Article:

Beijing sets occupational pension standards for civil servants

Narcotics Agency: Drugs Kill 33 Indonesians Daily, Not 40-50

BNN's latest data suggest lower number of Indonesian drug users than previously claimed by President Joko Widodo

Jakarta Globe, Erwida Maulia, Mar 10, 2015

New figures from the National Narcotics Agency, or BNN, suggest a slightly
declining pattern of drug use in Indonesia. (Antara Foto/Saptono)

Jakarta. Amid accusations that Indonesia has used faulty data to justify its executions of drug convicts on death row, the National Narcotics Agency, or BNN, suggested a modest decline in narcotics use in the country on Tuesday when it presented the latest relevant figures.

Bachtiar Tambunan, the deputy chief for community empowerment at BNN, said an estimated four million Indonesians were users of narcotics. This is a correction — albeit not drastic — to the figure that President Joko Widodo often cited to support his claims of Indonesia being in a state of emergency due to the supposedly high prevalence of drug abuse in the country.

Joko, in defense of his rejection of clemency appeals by drug convicts on death row, has said that 4.5 million out of 250 million Indonesians were drug users and that between 40 and 50 people died every day in the country because of drug abuse.

Bachtiar on Tuesday said Joko’s figures were based on data from a few years back. Last year, though, BNN conducted another joint study with the University of Indonesia (UI)’s Health Research Center, and the result showed a new estimate of 4 million drug-using Indonesians as well as a death rate estimated at 33 succumbing per day because of drug use.

BNN divides Indonesian drug users into three categories: those who have “ever tried” using drugs, totaling approximately 1.6 million people; “regular” users who number 1.4 million; and drug addicts who add up to 943,000 people. Men still dominate the statistics, representing 74.5 percent of the total number, while women account for just 25.5 percent.

The mortality rate is based on a combined number of deaths due to overdose, polydrug use — when two or more drugs are used at the same time or on the same occasion — and deaths because of relapse after a long hiatus, Bachtiar explained.

The BNN deputy chief added that marijuana, crystal methamphetamine and ecstasy pills remained the most popular products among Indonesian narcotics users. These users are estimated to consume a total of 14 million ecstasy pills per year, and use marijuana or crystal meth a total of 158 million and 219 million times per year, respectively.

“That is why we call this [drug situation] a state of emergency. During the past couple of months alone, BNN has seized more than one metric ton of crystal meth,” Bachtiar claimed. He added that children as young as 10 years old had been identified as drug users.

“The age of drug users ranges from ten to 59 years old,” Bachtiar said, citing several findings over the past few years on drug use by elementary school students in several regions, including Jakarta, Bekasi, Medan and Jambi.

Economic loss from narcotics problems in Indonesia is estimated to have reached Rp 63 trillion ($4.8 billion) last year, he added.

Bachtiar further said Indonesia’s problems with narcotics use continued to grow because of a number of factors, including law enforcement officers’ inability to distinguish drug users from traffickers, resulting in many who fall into the first category being sent to prison instead of rehab.

“And that worsens the situation. Because when sent to penitentiaries, drug users will learn how to traffic drugs from drug dealers, including foreigners, who have vast experience in inter-city and international trafficking,” Bachtiar asserted.

“Narcotics business generates quite a large sum of money so they can easily lure law enforcement officers [to help the business]…. Imprisoned drug dealers are often still involved in the drug trade [outside jail],” he added.

Bachtiar also said the development of rehab centers for drug addicts had been largely abandoned, adding that the government only began paying attention to this matter two years ago.

Indonesia this year is targeting to send 100,000 drug users to rehab.

“The president actually wants 400,000 people to be sent to rehab, but we don’t have enough rehab facilities yet. So rehabilitating 400,000 users will be our target for next year.”

Furthermore, Bachtiar threw his weight behind the death penalty for drug traffickers, saying he believed it could have a deterrent effect but only “if carried out consistently.”

Joko in December last year said that he had received clemency appeals from 64 inmates on death row in Indonesia, including drug and murder convicts, and that he would reject all of them.

This led to the executions of six inmates in January, including five foreigners, ending Indonesia’s unofficial moratorium on executions of death-row inmates.

The second round of executions of ten inmates – also mostly foreigners — was originally scheduled for last month but has been delayed following requests for review filed by some of the convicts.

Amid escalating diplomatic tension with several countries, including with Brazil and Australia, due to the executions or planned executions of their citizens, Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi repeatedly defended the Indonesian president’s war against drug crimes through capital punishment.

“There may be an impression as if we were happy [with the executions],” Retno said during a meeting with local media representatives in her office in Jakarta on Tuesday.

“I must emphasize that we’re not happy doing this. We don’t enjoy doing this. But this is the stance that the government is forced to take in order to enforce the law,” she added.

Related Articles:

Indonesia, Netherlands Organize Harm Reduction Talks at UNODC

UN Narcotics Agency Calling for Abolition of Death Penalty

Agency Terminates Buvanest Drug Permit After Deaths

Jakarta Globe, Investor Daily, Mar 06, 2015

Workers of Kalbe Farma factory sort out medicine tablets in Cikarang,
Indonesia West Java province August 5, 2013. (Reuters Photo)

Jakarta. The Food and Drug Monitoring Agency, known as BPOM, has terminated the distribution permit for the drug Buvanest Spinal by state-controlled pharmaceutical firm Kalbe Farma due to non-compliance with good manufacturing practices.

“[Kalbe Farma’s] investigation report did not adequately depict the problem roots, that there can be a potential mix-up,” said Togi Junice Hutadjulu, director of therapeutic products monitoring at the agency, on Thursday.

Preliminary findings from the ongoing investigation suggest Kalbe Farma incorrectly labelled tranexamic acid as Buvanest Spinal, which resulted in the deaths of two women undergoing Caesarian section and cystoscopy procedures at Siloam Hospital in Tangerang last month.

Investor Daily

Related Article:

Investigation Into Deadly Drug Mix-Up Continues

Investigation Into Deadly Drug Mix-Up Continues

Bad Medicine: Kalbe Farma and Siloam Hospitals both face investigations by the Health Ministry to determine if their procedures were adequate

Jakarta Globe, Feb 24, 2015

Puan Maharani, coordinating minister for human resources and culture
development. (Reuters Photo/Darren Whiteside)

Jakarta. The government says it has instructed Indonesia’s largest pharmaceutical firm, Kalbe Farma, to halt production of its anesthetic and anti-bleeding products at the center of investigations into the death of two women, while they were undergoing surgeries at Siloam Hospital in Tangerang earlier this month.

Coordinating for Human Resources and Culture Development Minister Puan Maharani on Monday said Kalbe Farma had been ordered to cease production of Buvanest, an anesthetic, and generic tranexamic acid, commonly used to treat or prevent excessive blood loss during surgery.

As initial indications pointed to Kalbe Farma’s fault, the minister has also ordered the withdrawal of the two products to protect the public, while promising the investigation can be concluded quickly.

Preliminary findings of the ongoing investigation suggest Kalbe Farma incorrectly packaged the two drugs, resulting in the death of one woman in surgery on Feb. 12 and another on Feb. 13.

The two women were undergoing a relatively routine Caesarian section and a cystoscopy, respectively (the latter is a urology procedure), before their deaths.

Investigators at Siloam believe the patients, who were prescribed 4 milliliter spinal injections of Buvanest, were administered tranexamic acid instead from ampules that had been mislabeled by the manufacturer as Buvanest.

Both drugs are produced by Kalbe Farma. Buvanest comes in 4ml vials; tranexamic acid in 5ml vials.

Minister Puan said Kalbe Farma had been ordered to halt its production of the two medicines pending investigations into the cases by the Ministry of Health and the Food and Drug monitoring Agency (BPOM).

“The instruction for Kalbe Farma [to halt the production] will stay in effect until investigation’s results come out,” Puan said in Jakarta on Monday.

She added that scrutiny was also extended to other pharmaceutical manufacturers in Indonesia.

“We’ve sent [Kalbe] a warning that there must be no repeat of this incidence. And we need thorough examinations of all drug manufacturers because this incidence has taken lives,” Puan said.

She added that the government would sanction Kalbe Farma if it was proven to have incorrectly packaged the drugs.

The Ministry of Health also has dispatched a team to investigate the Siloam hospital in Karawaci. The probe will look at the hospital’s operating permit, as well as interview anesthesiologists, obstetricians, gynecologists and nurses involved.

The ministry has said preliminary investigation results show Siloam Hospitals had followed standard operating procedures, including those for medicine storage.

The House of Representatives’ health commission has also formed a special investigative team, which has visited Kalbe Farma’s factory in the outskirts of Jakarta, according to a deputy head of the commission, Pius Lustrilanang.

He added that the team found that Kalbe Farma’s ampules labeled as Buvanest Spinal and tranexamic acid looked exactly the same.

“Only the labels are different,” Pius said.

Siloam Hospitals says the deceased patients surgeries’ were supervised by experienced senior physicians and anestheticians at Siloam Lippo Village.

Siloam Hospitals says it conducted an immediate and instant audit once the patients had their adverse reactions, while at the same time intervening in an attempt to save the patients’ lives.

An internal audit showed that Siloam Hospitals did everything right and followed procedures that it believes are correct, the hospital operator says, adding that it provides excellent medical care.

For Kalbe Farma’s part, the manufacturer was notified and invited to immediately look in to the matter, when it set up its own investigation.

Siloam said in a statement that it is only because of Siloam’s robust counter-check system on all adverse drug reaction outcomes, as a part of it overall and strict clinical governance system, that it was able to detect this incident in a such timely manner, following the death of its second patient from the same error.

After establishing the cause, it reported the incident to the authorities for further action, thereby preventing any future potential adverse outcomes across the country.

In a statement, Siloam Hospitals reiterated its pride in patient and staff safety systems and said that by being the first to bring to light this incident.

By doing so openly and clearly, Siloam said it showed its leadership mandate to uphold clinical excellence and provide international standards of health care.

Siloam Hospitals is Indonesia’s largest health-care provider and is listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange.

Its 20 national hospitals and nine medical centers treats more than two million patients per year.

In 2014 Siloam Hospitals added four hospitals to its network and expects to add 10 additional hospitals to its national network throughout 2015.

Siloam Hospitals says its vision is to empower Indonesia’s physicians and health care specialists and workers to be able to serve patients excellently and with compassion.

It strives to be at the forefront of clinical excellence and its flagship hospital is the first in Indonesia to be accredited by the prestigious Joint Commission International.

Siloam Hospitals is supported by 2,000 physicians and over 5,000 nursing professionals, as well as other health care professionals and staff.

The Jakarta Globe and Siloam Hospitals are both affiliated with Lippo Group.

Enrollment for National Health Insurance Exceeds Expectation

Jakarta Globe, Kennial Caroline Laia, Jul 17, 2014

Acting Governor of Banten Rano Karno, right, hands out insurance policies
 for a family of very poor households (RTS) in Cilegon, Banten, on June 27, 2014.
 BPJS of Banten wants to assure that fishermen, pedicab drivers, workers and small
 traders will be taken care of should they be stricken with illness. (Antara Photo/
Humas-Banten/ Asep F.)

Jakarta. The number of Indonesians participating in the ambitious national health insurance program launched under the Social Security Organizing Body, or BPJS, is expected to grow next year. Current figures have already surpassed the 2014 target, according to an official.

“Based on our data, more than 125 million have enrolled in the program since last year — higher than our initial target of 121.6 million,” BPJS spkesperson Irfan Humiadi told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday.

“This result is unexpected. Even though we have reached our target, we’re still actively putting out information and increasing our marketing efforts to promote the health scheme,” Irfan said.

The insurance applicants include millions of people who were already covered by the community health protection scheme (Jamkesmas), the regional health protection scheme (Jamkesda), and civil servants who were covered by insurance provider Asuransi Kesehatan or Askes, among others.

Irfan said employees from the private sector have also registered, and industrial-based companies and businesses have demonstrated good cooperation.

“Around four million have already registered for the insurance,” Irfan said.

“Motorcycle taxi drivers, street vendors and traders at traditional markets are also included within this group,” he added.

Nevertheless, Junaedi, the BPJS director in charge of registration, said the number of employees in the private sector who had jointed the national insurance system was lower than hoped for.

Only 146,878 workers, or 15 percent of the private sector, have joined the health insurance scheme to date — a far cry from the BPJS’s target of one million.

“We always set our targets high, because the participation from the private sector is also high. Last June, the participation increased by 180 percent,” Junaedi said on Tuesday, as quoted by Kompas.com.

Applicants have been asked to file their registrations with the compulsory government program independently.

BPJS aims for national insurance to manage the health coverage of more than 200 million Indonesians, out of the total population of some 250 million, by 2019.

Health Minister Warns Tobacco Industry to Start Printing Graphic Images on Cigarette Packaging

Jakarta Globe, Dessy Sagita, Jun 04, 2014

Two Indonesian senior high school students smoke cigarettes after school
in Bogor on May 31, 2013. (EPA Photo/Adi Weda)

Jakarta. Indonesian health minister Nafsiah Mboi has warned the tobacco industry to start printing graphic images associated with harm from smoking on cigarette packets before the June deadline passes.

“The regulation was not issued all of sudden, it has existed since 2009, so the pictorial health warnings should be printed and distributed by June 24,” Nafsiah told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday.

A government regulation on tobacco control, which was issued in December 2012 following the introduction of the 2009 health law, stipulated that at least 40 percent of cigarette packaging should be covered in images of tobacco-related disease.

The industry was given 18 months to comply with the regulation, but as the deadline nears, the tobacco industry and pro-tobacco lobbyists have argued the start date for the new requirement is unclear.

However, Nafsiah has criticized the Indonesian tobacco industry for stalling.

She said they had no problem following regulations in other countries.

“When they exported their products overseas they didn’t mind at all to print all the graphic images that sometimes comprise 80 percent of the package,” she said. “You use the images abroad but you don’t want to use them in your own country hoping that Indonesians will keep puffing, this is too cruel.”

Nafsiah warned that the 2009 health law clearly stipulated that anyone who produced or imported cigarettes to Indonesia without the pictorial health warning could receive a five year prison sentence or Rp 500 million ($42,000) fine.

While speaking to the Jakarta Globe, Nafsiah also struck out at House Speaker Marzuki Ali, who she said had hampered the ministry’s effort to move forward with ratification of the World Health Organizations’ Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

Although it was actively involved in drafting the treaty, Indonesia remains the only country in the Asia-Pacific region not to have ratified the convention.

In December, Indonesian ministries agreed the country must sign the treaty to protect the nation from the danger of tobacco addiction.

But several lawmakers, including Marzuki Ali, sent a letter to president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, which asked him to postpone the signing because a tobacco bill was being deliberated in the house.

“Tobacco farmers needn’t be overly concerned or start holding protests just yet,” Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam told reporters in March. “I don’t believe the president is in any rush to ratify this convention.”

Nafsiah said that Indonesia’s addiction to tobacco had reached an emergency level, especially for the the poorest 45 percent of households in the country.

“I used to respect the House Speaker but now I am thoroughly disappointed,” she said. “Lawmakers were voted by the public to represent and protect the people, it is very sad that the House Speaker chose to side with the tobacco industry instead of his constituents.”

Tobacco control activists have repeatedly criticized the bill, claiming it was initiated and funded by the tobacco industry to protect their business in a country where public health regulations lag behind much of the rest of the world and where over 37 percent of Indonesian boys between the ages of 15 and 19 were active smokers, according to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Health last year.

Nafsiah said before the present government’s term ended the WHO treaty must be signed.

“Our president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is internationally recognized as a leader in public health sector,” she said. “But some people are regretting that he did not want to leave a legacy to show that he is the president who eventually signed the treaty to join the international community.”

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Beijing to raise tobacco tax to cut smoking - New

Over 6,000 organizations in China agree to tobacco ad ban

New warning labels for cigarette packs in Taiwan

Member states back new EU tobacco rules

UK to introduce plain packaging for cigarettes

Australia Readies for First Plain Pack Cigarettes

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy,Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it), Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse), Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) -(Text version)

“… The Shift in Human Nature

You're starting to see integrity change. Awareness recalibrates integrity, and the Human Being who would sit there and take advantage of another Human Being in an old energy would never do it in a new energy. The reason? It will become intuitive, so this is a shift in Human Nature as well, for in the past you have assumed that people take advantage of people first and integrity comes later. That's just ordinary Human nature.

In the past, Human nature expressed within governments worked like this: If you were stronger than the other one, you simply conquered them. If you were strong, it was an invitation to conquer. If you were weak, it was an invitation to be conquered. No one even thought about it. It was the way of things. The bigger you could have your armies, the better they would do when you sent them out to conquer. That's not how you think today. Did you notice?

Any country that thinks this way today will not survive, for humanity has discovered that the world goes far better by putting things together instead of tearing them apart. The new energy puts the weak and strong together in ways that make sense and that have integrity. Take a look at what happened to some of the businesses in this great land (USA). Up to 30 years ago, when you started realizing some of them didn't have integrity, you eliminated them. What happened to the tobacco companies when you realized they were knowingly addicting your children? Today, they still sell their products to less-aware countries, but that will also change.

What did you do a few years ago when you realized that your bankers were actually selling you homes that they knew you couldn't pay for later? They were walking away, smiling greedily, not thinking about the heartbreak that was to follow when a life's dream would be lost. Dear American, you are in a recession. However, this is like when you prune a tree and cut back the branches. When the tree grows back, you've got control and the branches will grow bigger and stronger than they were before, without the greed factor. Then, if you don't like the way it grows back, you'll prune it again! I tell you this because awareness is now in control of big money. It's right before your eyes, what you're doing. But fear often rules. …”

State Insurers ‘Ready’ for World’s Largest Health Scheme

Jakarta Globe, Edi Hardum & Dina Manafe, December 12, 2013

People queue to see a doctor at the Fatmawati hospital in Jakarta on May 17,
 2013. Indonesia intends to implement a nationwide healthcare plan, with the aim to
 cover all Indonesians by 2019 from the 52 percent who currently have some form of
insurance. (Reuters Photo)

State-owned insurance companies are bracing for the rollout of what will be the world’s largest health-care scheme, set to be officially introduced across Indonesia next month.

Fachmi Idris, the chief director of health insurance provider Asuransi Kesehatan, or Askes, said on Wednesday that the company almost completed the transfer of assets from other state insurers as part of the program to consolidate all coverage under a single provider.

The existing providers contributing to the scheme include Jamsostek, which manages insurance for formal workers; Jamkesmas, which was set up to provide free health insurance to the poor; and Asabri, which manages insurance for serving and retired armed forces personnel.

“The transfer process is still ongoing, but we expect it to be completed by the end of the year, in time for the implementation of the new health insurance scheme in 2014,” Fachmi said.

Under the scheme, mandated by the National Social Security Law, a new umbrella agency called the Social Security Organizing Body (BPJS) must be in place by Jan. 1 next year to manage the health coverage for Indonesians already subscribed to the various other schemes. The BPJS will have an estimated 117 million subscribers to begin with.

Besides those covered by Jamsostek, Jamkesmas and Asabri, the BPJS will also insure domestic workers and contract-based workers who currently do not qualify for Jamsostek.

Fachmi said Askes was working with the Home Affairs Ministry to compile a database of Indonesians who would be covered by the BPJS.

He said Askes was also carrying out internal improvements and systems and technology upgrades to prepare for the implementation of the scheme.

Askes this year opened five more branch offices across the country and upped its headcount. Fachmi said the company would need at least 6,000 employees to support the migration to the BJPS scheme. Askes currently employs 4,000 people and plans to recruit another 1,500 staff.

Vice President Boediono, speaking during a visit on Wednesday to Askes, called on the company to ensure that all the supporting facilities and staff were in place before the Jan. 1 deadline.

“I hope all the related ministries and institutions responsible for the health sector can take the concrete action needed” to ensure the success of the program, he said.

Elvyn G. Massaya, the Jamsostek chief director, said his company was also ready for the rollout.

“Anyone who wants to access the workers’ insurance service will no longer have to wait for long,” he said, citing the new computerized claims system put in place by the company as part of preparations for integration under the BPJS.

“With this kind of service, the BPJS will be seen as a world-class insurance service,” Elvyn added.

Jamsostek now covers more than 11.5 million workers, or just over a tenth of the 110 million Indonesians employed in the formal sector, according to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).

The company manages more than Rp 130 trillion ($10.8 billion) in funds.

Former Health Ministry Director Sentenced to 5 Years in Bird Flu Graft Case

Jakarta Globe, SP/ Novianti Setuningsih, September 2, 2013

Ratna Dewi Umar at anti-corruption court in Jakarta on Monday. (JG Photo/
Afriad Hikmal)

Disgraced Ministry of Health Director Ratna Dewi Umar was sentenced to five years in prison on Monday for inflating the cost of needed medical ventilators at the height of Indonesia’s response to the most deadly outbreak of bird flu in the world.

In 2007, Indonesian health officials were scrambling to control an outbreak of the H5N1 virus that left more than 100 people dead by the end of the year. Mortality rates for those infected with the virus have remained above 78 percent in the years that followed as the nation eventually recorded 159 of the 359 reported human fatalities to date, according to World Health Organization data.

As the nation rushed to head-off a possible nationwide epidemic, Ratna marked up the price of medical ventilators purchased from subcontractor Prasasti Mitra, a company owned by Bambang Rudijanto Tanoesoedibjo, the brother of media mogul and presidential hopeful Hary Tanoesoedibjo. The scheme cost the state some Rp 12 billion ($1.2 million) in losses.

“We declare that the suspect Ratna Dewi Umar has been found convincingly guilty of corruption,” lead judge Nawawi Pomolango said.

The former health director was also ordered to pay Rp 500 million in fines or face an additional three years in prison. She has maintained her innocence through the trial, testifying that former Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari was responsible for the graft.

“I was just following an order from my superior, I did not intend to commit any corruption as accused,” Ratna said. “Siti Fadilah Supari has been untouchable and is so sure she will not be touched,but I am convinced she will not escape her judgment day.”

Siti was originally called in as a witness in Ratna’s case, but was later declared a suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for allegedly accepting Rp 1.2 billion in traveler’s checks associated with the graft scandal. In November of last year, the KPK announced it would move to seize the former health minister’s assets.

She has denied the charges.

Drug Users Should Go to Rehab, Not Jail: BNN

Jakarta Globe, Bayu Marhaenjati, June 13, 2013

Indonesian officials with the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) test
 methamphetamine during a press conference in Jakarta on Feb. 7, 2013.
(AFP Photo/ Adek Berry).

In a stark contrast to current judicial trends in Indonesia, the chief of the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) has advocated for rehabilitation-based treatment for drug users rather than incarceration.

“Abusing drugs is illegal and clearly prohibited, but the proper punishment a judge should hand down [to drug abusers] is not prison, but rehabilitation,” Anang Iskandar, the head of the agency, said on Thursday.

Anang said there were still judges who preferred to punish drug abusers by ordering them to undergo jail time, even though the Supreme Court issued a regulation stipulating that a drug abuser should be rehabilitated.

“A judge may order a drug abuser to check into a rehab as long as they are not a trafficker, but unfortunately, there are still some judges who do not want to do that. It’s a shame, because it could help reduce the number of drug abusers,” he said.

Anang said that the BNN has been trying improve the competence of its staff in order to help more drug users.

“We want our staff to understand that their job is to bring the drug addicts in voluntarily and not by force,” he said.

According to a 2011 survey by the BNN, there are between 3.8 and 4.2 million illicit drug users in Indonesia.

Deputy Justice Minister Denny Indrayana previously said that sending drug addicts to prison hinders their chance of recovering and also crowds prisons and detention centers.

According to the deputy minister, drug offenders make up more than 40 percent of the 150,000 people detained in Indonesian jails.

Indonesia to override patents for life-saving medicines

Asia Sentinel, Irin, 26 March 2013       

None of these work?

Jakarta chooses saving patients' lives over protecting patents

The Indonesian government hopes to implement one of the largest ever examples of "compulsory licensing," which will enable the generic manufacture of drugs still under patent. Advocates of the move say the reduced drug costs achieved through compulsory licensing have been instrumental in reducing HIV mortality rates in Indonesia.

"One of the major reasons for decreased HIV mortality rates is the provision of anti-retroviral [ARV] treatment, and if [Indonesia] can't afford the anti-retroviral treatment, the mortality rate will return" to the higher levels of previous years, Samsuridjal Djauzi, chairman of the Indonesian Association of Physicians in AIDS Care, told IRIN.

The latest use of compulsory licensing - Indonesia's third to date - will allow the government to expand its access to the second-line ARVs, he said, including tenofovir, emtricitabine, and lopinavir/ritonavir.

Under the World Trade Organization's Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), countries can override patents for public health purposes by issuing compulsory licenses that enable the generic manufacture of drugs still under patent.

"Urgent need"

In this latest move, a September 2012 presidential decree announced the government would procure generic equivalents of the international patents for seven HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B medicines, citing the "urgent need" to control these diseases.

"The implementation of the third compulsory licensing depends on the capability/readiness of the manufacturer [Kimia Farma]. I estimate efavirenz [another HIV medication on the list] will be available in the next three to six months. For other drugs, [we] will need more time," Djauzi said.

According to UNAIDS, an estimated 380,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS in Indonesia. The number may not appear alarming considering that Indonesia is a developing country with nearly 250 million people, but the prevalence rate is now 25 percent higher than it was a decade ago.

The spread of HIV is attributed to low condom use and epidemic-level infection rates - 36.4 percent - among injecting drug users, experts say.

The cost of normal treatment is around US$90 per person per month, Usep Solehudin, who coordinates free distribution of ARVs for some 120 patients at a clinic in Jakarta called Yayasan Pelita Ilmu (YPI), told IRIN. This is beyond the means of most of his patients, whose incomes are generally $100 to $200 per month.

"The patients would not otherwise be able to buy it [the ARVs] because they cannot afford it," he said. "They would just ignore their health."

Jakarta first used compulsory licensing in 2004, ushering in increased medication access.

The number of Indonesians receiving ARVs has quadrupled since 2008, to 30,000 today, and the government is looking to maintain this rate of expansion, said Cho Kah Sin, country director of UNAIDS in Indonesia.

The latest government license focuses on second-line ARVs, which are prescribed to patients who have developed resistance to first-line treatment. Resistance in a population tends to develop within several years of a drug's introduction. The government is therefore expecting that increasing numbers of Indonesians with HIV will require second-line treatment, said Cho Kah Sin.

Innovation at risk?

Critics of compulsory licensing say its usage undermines medical innovation.

"Systematic issuance of compulsory licenses sets a negative precedent and can reduce the incentive to invest in the research and development of new medicines that address unmet medical needs," said Andrew Jenner, director of innovation, intellectual property and trade at the Switzerland-based International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations, in a written statement to IRIN.

"We believe that negotiated approaches, such as tiered pricing and voluntary licensing, are generally more effective and sustainable, both medically and economically," said Jenner, whose organization represents four pharmaceutical companies whose medicines are to be generically replicated by Indonesia. Tiered pricing is the practice of setting different prices for different markets.

Others studies, however, argue there is no empirical evidence that patents increase innovation and productivity. Peter Maybarduk, who directs the Global Access to Medicines Program for Public Citizen, a US-based NGO, advocates wider use of "compulsory licensing" by developing countries. "We don't think compulsory licensing should only be used in the most dire scenarios," he said.

Switzerland-based Michelle Childs, who heads the Campaign for Access to Essential Medicine for Médecins Sans Frontières, agrees: "If there is a clash between access to [essential] medicines and patent rights... the primacy of access should be promoted," she said.

Maura Linda Sitanggang, director-general of the pharmaceutical department at Indonesia's Ministry of Health, did not respond to requests for an interview.

(IRIN is a service of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations)