Jakarta – The Indonesian government has shown extraordinary commitment to improving the welfare of village communities by integrating around 54,000 village pharmacies and clinics into the Red and White Village Cooperative (Kopdes Merah Putih) system. This strategic policy was initiated by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs, covering assistant health centers (pustu), village health centers (puskesdes), and other health service units that have been active at the village level.
This step is a direct implementation of Presidential Instruction (Inpres) Number 9 of 2025 concerning the Establishment of Kopdes Merah Putih which targets the establishment of 80,000 village cooperatives throughout Indonesia. Each village cooperative is directed to have seven strategic business units, one of which is health services which are now the government’s top priority.
Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin emphasized that this merger will accelerate the distribution of health services throughout the archipelago without having to build new facilities, so that it is very efficient and on target.
“We don’t need to build new ones. We utilize existing health centers, health centers, and health centers. Once the decision is made, within a week 54,000 pharmacy and village clinic business units will be ready to join,” said Budi Gunadi Sadikin.
Furthermore, Budi Gunadi Sadikin emphasized that the government has prepared concrete steps to ensure the quality of health services by placing professional pharmacists in every village, as well as procuring medicines nationally.
“We buy the medicines nationally, so they are cheap. And we will place pharmacists so that the community gets the right services,” continued Budi Gunadi Sadikin.
This policy also received full support from the Minister of Cooperatives, Budi Arie Setiadi, who considered that health services in village cooperatives are an important foundation for increasing the productivity of the people’s economy.
“Health is the foundation of the economy. If villagers are healthy, then local economic productivity will also increase,” said Budi Arie.
According to Budi Arie, village cooperatives are currently being directed to become comprehensive public service centers, covering the health, education, and logistics distribution sectors. This shows how strong the government’s vision is to make cooperatives the spearhead of village development.
This integration program is not just an administrative policy, but rather a strategic breakthrough in creating an independent, prosperous, and highly competitive village ecosystem. With the presence of Kopdes Merah Putih, villages are no longer objects of development, but have become the main driving force of national development. [^]
