Status: 16.06.2022

High-ranking visitor from Indonesia: A delegation from the Indonesian Ministry of Health visited the Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC) at Hannover Medical School (MHH) on May 31, 2022. Among them were Prof. Dr. Abdul Kadir, Director General of Health Services of the Ministry of Health and Dr. Soeko Werdi Nindito, Director of the National Cancer Center Dharmais in Indonesia. At the joint meeting, the cancer centers signed a memorandum of understanding to improve the quality of health care and research in oncology. This activity will continue with the development of a cooperation agreement.

Cancer medicine and oncology care were the focus of the working visit to the MHH. Topics on the agenda of the working meeting included quality management in oncology, the virtual tumor board as support in tumor conferences and a tour of the Gynecological Dysplasia Unit, the Mammography Screening Unit and the Radiation Oncology Department.
A key mediator and project partner in the collaboration is the German-Indonesian Society for Medicine (DIGM), whose President is Professor Jörg Haier, Managing Director of the CCC Hannover. There has already been close cooperation with the National Cancer Center in Indonesia for more than 10 years.

"We are delighted that we were able to give our visit various insights into the structures of our center. Even more about the lively and intensive exchange that took place at the working meeting and the intention to work even more closely together in the future," said Professor Haier. The Indonesian Director General for Health Services, Professor Kadir, added: "The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding is an important step towards further expanding and intensifying German-Indonesian cooperation in oncology in the future as part of the bilateral intergovernmental agreement".

Research activities are being driven forward

The improvement in quality is achieved through joint research projects and training for medical staff, among other things. One current MHH project in Indonesia, for example, is the IndoCerCa study (Indonesian Cervical Cancer) under the leadership of the CCC Hannover. The study is concerned with the implementation of self-test procedures for the detection of human papilloma viruses for cervical cancer screening and is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The aim is to use self-tests to reach regions and groups in Indonesia that have limited access to medical facilities or Institutions.

Indonesia will also be a guest at this year's G7 summit in Elmau Castle in Bavaria at the end of June. One of the G7's key topics: improving the international healthcare system. Alongside the G20 format, the G7 offers an important informal framework for addressing key global challenges and at the same time provides an opportunity for bilateral exchange between heads of state and government. The activities of the German Alliance for Global Health Research, to which the IndoCerCa project belongs, are part of these international efforts.

Forfurther information, please contact Professor Jörg Haier, e-mail haier.joerg@mh-hannover.de, phone +49 (0) 511 532-19343