Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto reiterated his commitment to provide pharmacies in every village in Indonesia as part of a strategy to expand access to cheap and affordable medicines. The government wants every village to have a pharmacy with medicines that are affordable for the village community.
“So every village will have a pharmacy with medicines that are affordable for the village people,” said President Prabowo.
He added that the available drugs are generic drugs that have the same quality, even without the fancy packaging.
“The medicine can be one-third or even just 10 percent of the price in the cities,” he said.
This program will be integrated into the plan to establish 80 thousand village cooperatives that are part of the national network.
“We will help each village with credit, warehouses, cold rooms, and even two trucks for distribution,” he added.
Minister of Health, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, said that the limited access to health services experienced by the community during the pandemic was a valuable lesson.
“What will be implemented soon are village clinics and pharmacies. Ten thousand health centers are not enough,” said Health Minister Budi.
According to him, only by expanding services to 85 thousand villages can basic health needs be met.
He explained that he would consolidate 66 thousand Pustu and Poskesdes to form a more equitable system.
“We will push for regulations to be included in the law,” he said.
This program will also support the equalization of the Free Health Check (CKG) program which currently still reaches 1.5 million people.
To address the shortage of medical personnel in villages, the government will place nurses and midwives in each facility.
“It might be crowded because I want our nurses to be raised in status, like before there were paramedics. But if not, the service will not reach the villages,” explained the Minister of Health.
He added that this solution could be implemented with additional training and assistance from doctors to ensure it remains up to standard.
Meanwhile, President Director of PT Bio Farma (Persero), Shadiq Akasya, stated his readiness to supply medicines to the village pharmacy network.
“We are ready, but we are still waiting for direction from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Cooperatives,” he said in a meeting with the Indonesian House of Representatives.
Bio Farma has also submitted a list of drug products ready for distribution.
The village pharmacy will be part of the Red and White Village Cooperative business unit, which also manages a grocery store, clinic, and logistics distribution.
This program is scheduled to be officially launched on July 12, coinciding with National Cooperative Day.
