On Wednesday, February 8, 2017, Indonesia Philanthropy Association hosted the second working group session on New Models for Financing Vaccination Programs in Southeast Asia, organized by the Milken Institute. The second meeting is a shorter half-day session compared to the first one, but it was also well attended by various stakeholders of vaccination programs in Indonesia. The participants represented all sectors: from philanthropy and business, to NGO or nonprofit and government. They are World Health Organization (WHO), the University of Gadjah Mada, ITAGI, Wahana Visi Indonesia (World Vision), Tahija Foundation, Tanoto Foundation, Clinton Health Access Initiative, Sanofi Pasteur, the Indonesian Ministry of Health, and Department of Health Jakarta Provincial Government.

This session was intended to identify the barriers of vaccination programs and to propose innovative funding solutions to overcome them. The discussion was lively and the participants participated actively by sharing their experiences with current vaccination programs on both the national and provincial levels. Milken Institute proposed a demonstration project in Jakarta and participants discussed which funding solutions may help each activity (ranging from database and surveillance, procurement, implementation and cost to community/raising awareness).

At the end of the discussion, Caitlin MacLean of the Milken Institute session challenged all participants to create a steering committee of this project in Indonesia so there is an effective leadership for the cause. The next meeting is expected to be more intimate, and includes actors from each sector including philanthropists, donors and investors in Indonesia who want to get involved.