COVID-19 was officially declared a pandemic nearly a year ago, and in that time, global leaders have increasingly seen the importance of innovation and collaboration in addressing this major global health challenge. Indonesia – as one of only 34 countries represented on the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board in 2021 – has an extraordinary opportunity to advance efforts that fuel progress and support a strong intellectual property (IP) and innovation ecosystem.

One such opportunity is when the Executive Board continues conversations on the Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property (GSPOA). The GSPOA, negotiated and approved 13 years ago, helps countries set policies to support discovery of new treatments and cures for diseases disproportionately affecting developing nations.

Importantly, the GSPOA views IP as “an important incentive in the development of health care products.” However, as nations look to speed COVID-19 therapies and vaccines to people worldwide, some leaders have supported misguided policies, such as compulsory licensing, that could inadvertently delay efforts to contain the pandemic. Proposals to erode or suspend longstanding intellectual property policies threaten much-needed innovation for developing and developed nations alike. Such focus also strays from the WHO’s main mission of leading the global coordination and response to pandemics like the coronavirus and other health emergencies – which should remain the priority, especially now.

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll, but it has also spurred unprecedented collaboration and innovation to address it – due, in no small part, to strong IP systems that protect innovators. Indonesia has been hit hard by COVID-19, both socially and economically. By the end of 2020, for example, annual GDP growth was projected to be between 5.3 and 7.3 percent lower than under a baseline scenario without COVID-19.

Embracing innovation and supporting innovative industries could help reverse economic setbacks from the pandemic. However, Indonesia has room to grow in optimizing its economy for innovation, ranking 85th out of the 131 economies featured in the 2020 Global Innovation Index.

But that potential remains, as Indonesia has shown an appreciation for the role of IP, innovation and collaboration in addressing our current challenges:

• Ambassador Hasan Kleib, Indonesian permanent representative to the United Nations, WTO, and other international organizations, noted that "intellectual property is the main key for the success of social, economic, and cultural development” at a UN meeting in Geneva.
• Innovation was a priority in developing Indonesia’s master economic plan 2011-2025, where one of the three main goals has a “focus on the overall strengthening of sustainable global competitiveness towards an innovation-driven economy.”
• And at last year’s World Health Assembly Indonesia underscored the need for collaboration and partnership, stating their first priority in ending COVID-19 was to “strengthen our solidarity. Only through cooperation we will be able to effectively respond to the pandemic.”

Before Indonesia ends its Executive Board term this year, its leaders should speak up to defend IP and innovation, which it very much supports for its own prosperity, as well as advocate for continued partnerships, including collaboration with private sector. In doing so, we can end the coronavirus pandemic and improve global health.