Fostering the spirit of South-South Cooperation, Indonesia is not only addressing its own healthcare challenges but also sharing its expertise to help other nations transform their health systems. A key player in this collaborative effort is the Electronic Immunization and Logistics Monitoring System (SMILE), a digital solution designed to streamline healthcare logistics and ensure equitable vaccine distribution. By transferring this technology to countries such as Malawi, Indonesia is demonstrating the power of knowledge-sharing across the Global South. 

In 2008, immunization coverage for children in Indonesia’s outer islands stood at just 73 percent, well below the global target of 90 percent. While in the easternmost regions, such as Papua and East Nusa Tenggara, coverage did not even reach 60 percent. If unaddressed, this situation could significantly impact the nation's future life expectancy. 

Recognizing the urgent need for health reform, the country invested in strengthening its health infrastructure, leading to the development of SMILE. Inspired by India’s successful eVIN system, SMILE was developed by the Ministry of Health with support from UNDP. It was launched in 2018 to tackle the logistical challenges of the world’s fourth most populous nation. With, its vast archipelago, maintaining accurate vaccine distribution records was critical.  

Initially intended for routine immunizations, SMILE was swiftly adapted to become an essential component of Indonesia's COVID-19 response. The system played a pivotal role in facilitating the timely delivery of 450 million of COVID-19 vaccine doses to 185 million individuals within a year. Furthermore, SMILE's efficient distribution system gradually ensured comprehensive vaccine coverage across the nation over a three-year period. This accomplishment was particularly remarkable, given that some projections indicated Indonesia would require more than a decade to vaccinate 75 percent of its population. 

Today, SMILE is one of central pillars of Indonesia’s healthcare logistics infrastructure, managing over 850 million doses of COVID-19 and routine immunization vaccines, and 100 million drug doses across 12,000 health facilities in 38 provinces. Its scope has expanded to include a wide range of health commodities – covering routine immunizations, HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria, Rabies and medical waste management.  

An economic analysis revealed that SMILE not only improves health outcomes but also generates significant financial returns, delivering threefold savings for every dollar invested in health service delivery. 

Building on this success, Indonesia – through a partnership between the Ministry of Health and UNDP Indonesia with support from the UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub and the UNDP Digital Health for Development Hub – has made SMILE system available for other countries to adopt as part of an effort to promote South-South knowledge-sharing. The open-source nature of the SMILE platform allows for its local customization, making it adaptable to diverse healthcare environments. 

One of the most recent beneficiaries of this knowledge-sharing initiative is Malawi. Recently, a high-ranking delegation of eight officials from Malawi’s Ministry of Health, UNDP and WHO visited Indonesia to witness SMILE’s implementation firsthand. The visit involved field demonstrations of the SMILE application in Yogyakarta’s Provincial Health Office, Gedong Tengen Primary Health Center and RSUP Dr. Sardjito, allowing the delegation to interact with health workers and observe how the system works to efficiently manage and monitor logistics for immunization, essential drugs and healthcare waste.