UNSRI Strengthens International Collaboration in Tropical Health Research with Amsterdam University Medical Center

Sriwijaya University (UNSRI) strengthened its international research network in the field of tropical health through a virtual meeting titled “Connecting and Building Trust” on Friday (August 28, 2026). 

The meeting brought together representatives from UNSRI’s Faculty of Medicine (FK) and Faculty of Public Health (FKM), the South Sumatra Provincial Health Office, and Prof. Dr. Martin Peter Grobusch, Director of the Center for Tropical Medicine and Travel Medicine at Amsterdam University Medical Center (AUMC). The session aimed to explore opportunities for collaboration in the fields of tropical medicine, public health research, and global health. 

The session, moderated by Najmah, SKM, MPH, PhD (Head of the Subdirectorate for Internationalization, Directorate of Cooperation, Internationalization, and Alumni at UNSRI), opened with remarks from Prof. Dr. dr. Radiyati Umi Partan, Sp.PD-KR, M.Kes, Vice Rector for Research, Community Service, Innovation, Commercialization, and Information Systems at UNSRI, who emphasized the university’s commitment to strengthening international research partnerships. 

The event continued with comprehensive presentations from UNSRI and local health authorities. Representing the UNSRI School of Public Health (FKM), Prof. Dr. rer. med. Hamzah Hasyim highlighted the faculty’s focus on malaria epidemiology and spatial modeling. Meanwhile, Prof. Ramzi Amin, Dr. Rizky Andini Nawawi, M. Biomed, and the UNSRI Faculty of Medicine team introduced their multidisciplinary clinical research activities related to tropical diseases. To provide a field perspective, Dr. H. Trisnawarman from the South Sumatra Provincial Health Office presented the current situation regarding tropical diseases in his province, including health priorities and challenges on the ground. 

In response to the presentation, Prof. Martin highlighted his research center’s focus on malaria and tuberculosis (TB), and expressed high praise for the impressive presentation by the UNSRI delegation. Although he apologized for being able to stay only briefly due to the one-hour time limit of the meeting, he noted significant opportunities for collaboration, particularly in TB research, epidemiology, and student exchange programs. He emphasized that student exchanges must be neutral and non-coercive to provide opportunities for cross-national epidemiology learning. Furthermore, Prof. Martin also openly discussed research challenges, noting that securing research funding in Indonesia is quite difficult because most European research funds are focused on Africa; thus, he emphasized the need to jointly seek funding sources. 

The open discussion, led by Ika Septihandayani, Research Project Manager at Amsterdam UMC, further explored synergies across sectors and disciplines. Viewing this inaugural meeting as the beginning of a “thoughtful partnership,” Prof. Martin proposed scheduling a follow-up meeting within the next 2–3 weeks with a longer time allocation (more than 2 hours). He plans to invite other AUMC researchers to the second meeting so that topics can be discussed in greater detail, and expressed his hope to arrange an in-person visit early next year to build a sustainable, research-based partnership. (FKM Press Release)