Indonesia's Universitas Indonesia (UI) is taking a lead scientific role in a major international clinical trial examining whether nutritional interventions can shield people living with tuberculosis patients from developing the disease themselves. The study, called Prevention of Household Tuberculosis with Optimal Nutrition (PHOTON), was officially launched by Indonesia's Ministry of Health, according to ANTARA News. The announcement was made at UI's Depok campus on Monday, where university officials framed the trial as a landmark moment for Indonesian research.
Why it matters
Indonesia currently carries the world's second-highest tuberculosis burden, with more than one million new cases recorded each year, ANTARA News reports. That makes the country a critical front in global efforts to control the disease. PHOTON is described as the first study of its kind at this scale, and its findings are expected to strengthen the scientific evidence base for prevention strategies both in Indonesia and internationally.
Hamdi Muluk, UI's Vice Rector for Research, Innovation, Students and Alumni, said universities have a strategic part to play in producing research that addresses complex health problems. He noted that UI's involvement reflects the institution's commitment to generating evidence that can inform research-driven policymaking.
"This is a large-scale study being conducted for the first time, so it is a very good achievement for Indonesia," Muluk said, according to ANTARA News. "Of course we are proud to be able to provide strong evidence through a scientific approach to support policymaking."
A trial spanning two countries and tens of thousands of participants
PHOTON is a large clinical trial involving a total of 78,400 participants across Indonesia and Tanzania. More than 42,000 of those participants are in Indonesia, according to ANTARA News.
UI will lead the Indonesian arm of the research through its Center for Global Resilience in Health and Nutrition (C-GRHEN), working alongside the Summit Institute for Development (SID), Siklus Indonesia and the University of Oxford. In Tanzania, the study is being led by the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR). Funding support comes from the Gates Foundation, Wellcome Trust and Novo Nordisk Foundation.
The trial focuses on household contacts of tuberculosis patients — people who share a home with someone who has the disease and therefore face elevated exposure. The research is built on the need for stronger scientific evidence on how nutritional status relates to tuberculosis risk.
Rina Agustina, director of C-GRHEN and principal investigator for PHOTON in Indonesia, said nutritional interventions could serve as a complementary strategy for protecting vulnerable groups and for accelerating progress toward tuberculosis elimination. She added that the study's significance goes beyond its size, because it demonstrates Indonesia's active part in global scientific leadership.
According to Agustina, Indonesia is not merely hosting research but is contributing to the scientific agenda itself — from shaping the research questions and drafting the protocol to designing and carrying out the study with international and domestic partners.
Collaboration across government, academia and global partners
The launch of PHOTON was presented as a step toward closer cooperation among government, academic institutions, international research partners and other health stakeholders in tackling a disease that remains a serious public health challenge in Indonesia.
The Ministry of Health's involvement places the trial within the country's broader tuberculosis response. A deputy health minister also voiced support for the nutrition study as a contribution to both prevention and treatment efforts, according to TVRI News. Media Indonesia's e-paper edition highlighted the research into nutrition's role in curbing transmission, while Bisnis Style reported that the health ministry and UI are jointly testing nutrition as a way to strengthen tuberculosis handling. InfoPublik described the study as an examination of nutritional supplementation for tuberculosis prevention.
The study's design reflects a growing interest among researchers in whether improving diet and nutritional intake can reduce the likelihood that people heavily exposed to tuberculosis will fall ill. Household contacts are a particularly relevant group to study because their exposure is sustained and close.
What happens next will depend on how the trial's data unfold across its sites in Indonesia and Tanzania. For now, the launch positions Indonesia at the center of an international effort whose results could shape prevention guidance for years to come.
