UNS — A lecturer from University Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta, dr. Tonang Dwi Ardyanto received the XVIII Achmad Bakrie Award in 2022. The awarding ceremony was held at Djakarta Theatre, Jakarta, on Sunday (14/8/2022). The Ahmad Bakrie Award XVIII determined the winners under five award categories, namely Literature, Social Thought, Science, Medicine, and Meritorious International Scientists Serving Indonesia. This Ahmad Bakrie Award was established in 2003, but in 2020-2021 it was abolished due to the pandemic.
dr. Tonang was awarded the Ahmad Bakrie Award XVIII under the category of medicine along with dr. Dr. Erlina Burhan. Both were rewarded for providing synergistic contributions between clinical-epidemiological and pulmonological-public health that helped Indonesia in handling the global Covid-19 pandemic with internationally acclaimed results.
“This year’s Ahmad Bakrie Award was highly affected by the Covid-19 crisis in the medical category. What we sought is those who are considered to play a significant role in joint efforts to overcome and handle the Covid-19 pandemic. As we know, in addition to facing the pandemic, we have also faced the information pandemic or called ‘infodemic.’ The existence of this ‘infodemic’ further intensifies the problem and adds to the burden of handling the Covid-19 pandemic itself,” said dr. Tonang, when contacted by uns.ac.id on Tuesday (16/8/2022).
dr. Tonang said that according to the Ahmad Bakrie Award XVIII committee, he was considered as an actor who played a significant role in bridging the gap between science in the laboratory. In clinical matters, how to handle Covid-19 patients. Then, there is an epidemiological study that covers the implications for public health. All effort to align all those aspects is important to minimize the negative effects of the ‘infodemic’ that hit the community in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic situation.
“My gratitude to all of you, Ladies and Gentlemen, and all of my colleagues, for your attention, prayer, and support. Hopefully, this award will be a blessing and benefit to the community,” said Dr. Tonang. Humas UNS
Reporter: Bayu Aji Prasetya
Editor: Dwi Hastuti