Indonesia’s National Armed Forces serve as the country’s front line of defense against biological threats—whether natural, accidental, or deliberate. To enhance national preparedness, DTRA sought to improve Indonesia’s military biosafety, biosecurity, and biosurveillance capabilities through targeted training, provision of equipment, and stakeholder engagement.
Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)
Capacity Development
2019 to current
Intreped supported DTRA’s multi-year Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program in Indonesia by equipping military laboratories, identifying facility and infrastructure gaps, and planning and facilitating technical trainings across three stakeholder organizations: National Armed Forces of Indonesia (TNI), Republic of Indonesia Defense University (RIDU), and the Indonesia National Police Force (POLRI). We coordinated site visits, led stakeholder engagement, developed a multi-year training plan, and assessed the effectiveness of all activities. Our team managed international travel and logistics for U.S.–based trainers and subject matter experts and overcame complex coordination challenges with local partners and the U.S. Embassy through a structured engagement and communications strategy.
Intreped’s work strengthened Indonesia’s lab capabilities, informed equipment investments, and led to the delivery of high-impact training rated “outstanding” by participants. Intreped facilitated the delivery of 13 unique training activities in the disciplines of biosafety and biosecurity, biorisk management, epidemiology, and molecular diagnostics, reaching 147 training participants. As a result, trainees have an increased understanding of the role of their laboratories in national and global health security to curtail current and prevent future biological risks and threats such as naturally occurring outbreaks, accidental release or intentional misuse of dangerous biological agents, and bioterrorism.
