The Partnership in Research Indonesia and Melbourne (PRIME) was established in 2021 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding by the University of Melbourne, Universitas Indonesia and the governments of the Republic of Indonesia.
Through the PRIME partnership, Melbourne-based researchers are collaborating with colleagues in universities across Indonesia and the Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemendikbudristekdikti) to conduct research and academic collaboration in health, social sciences, and engineering to address global challenges confronting the world today.
Their work contributes to the University of Melbourne's international reputation and is paving the way for new projects with worldwide bodies such as the World Health Organization.
Enhancing interdisciplinary research and training in Indonesia
The work researchers are conducting with colleagues within the PRIME-Health Indonesian partnership is coordinated by academic lead Associate Professor Anita Horvath who is based at the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences (MDHS).
Through PRIME-Health, MDHS researchers are partnering with colleagues at the University of Indonesia, Gadjah Mada University and the University of Airlangga to deliver research programs in primary health care, health systems, infectious diseases and adolescent health.
Photo by Maulana Surya for Antara.
Establishing research clusters to address health
In the two years since PRIME-Health was established, Melbourne-based researchers in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences have commenced work on a wide range of health projects with Indonesian colleagues to improve health outcomes in Indonesia, including those for adolescents and young people.
PRIME-Health research concentrates on four clusters:
- Primary Care Cluster
- Infectious Disease Cluster
- Adolescent Health Cluster
- Health Services Cluster
The pilot programs are investigating the provision of friendly primary care services to optimise health outcomes for adolescents and young adults, improve long-term outcomes for children with COVID-19, address stunting and obesity prevalent in Indonesia for young children into adolescence, and discover ways to make community-based health systems more resilient to future pandemic outbreaks.