UNAIR NEWS – Panic buying that hit society in the beginning of Covid-19 era in Indonesia resulted in a scarcity of hand sanitizers. Universitas Airlangga answered this problem by creating its own hand sanitizer. Prof. Dr. Retno Sari, a professor of Faculty of Pharmacy UNAIR, was one of the initiators behind the creation of UNAIR hand sanitizers.
“There is an awareness that Indonesia has natural ingredients that can be used for hand sanitizers,” explained the pharmaceutical expert.
The basic natural ingredient in question is betel leaf. “That’s what we develop. Students make the product,” she explained. The hand sanitizers are distributed to faculties at Universitas Airlangga holding activities during the pandemic.
The work was exhibited at the UNAIR Covid-19 Archive Exhibition on Thursday, January 5, 2023. The exhibition aims to present policy documents, photos and videos that describe various efforts of Universitas Airlangga in dealing with Covid-19.
During this activity, Prof. Retno spoke in a talk show to explain how to make hand sanitizers that are safe during a pandemic. She said that before the pandemic, people knew nothing about hand sanitizers. During the pandemic, many people could make their own hand sanitizer with video tutorials on YouTube.
“That is a preventive measure to protect yourself from the virus.”
Still needed
Prof Retno explained that the use of disinfectants such as hand sanitizers had become a necessity before the pandemic. Later, when the Covid-19 case decreased, she suggested continuing to use hand sanitizers.
“It is still needed even though the cases have dropped. It has become a daily necessity and can support the quality of health, “explained Prof. Retno.
The Covid-19 case is not necessarily an excuse to adopt a healthy lifestyle. “Healthy living behavior should become a habit, not just (during, ed) a pandemic. There should be a mindset that changes to be better for health,” she added. She also advised them to maintain a healthy lifestyle formed during the pandemic.
“Regarding our conducive situation, please continue to maintain cleanliness, both personal hygiene and the environment, of course. That is important, because it will affect our level of health and quality of life.”
Author: Ghulam Phasa Pambayung Editor: Khefti Al Mawalia
