Experts Support Village Pharmacies as Breakthrough to Increase Access to Health Services in Remote Areas
Jakarta – The Village Pharmacy Program initiated by President Prabowo Subianto has received widespread support from experts and health professional organizations, including the Indonesian Pharmacists Association (IAI).
This program is considered a strategic step in expanding access to health services to the village level through the establishment of the Red and White Village Cooperative, as stated in Presidential Instruction (Inpres) Number 9 of 2025.
The General Chairperson of the IAI Central Board, Noffendri Roestam, stated that the existence of Village/Sub-district Pharmacies in 80,000 villages/sub-districts in Indonesia is a brilliant idea that can answer the challenge of equalizing health services. According to him, this program will be successful if it is managed optimally and not just a symbolic project.
“For IAI, our focus is to ensure that this Village Pharmacy can run well and achieve its initial goals, not become a stalled program,” said Noffendri.
Noffendri also welcomed the solution from Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin who emphasized the importance of optimizing 54,000 existing health facilities such as community health centers and integrated health posts, without the need for new regulations.
“IAI’s task is to prepare pharmacists to support this program,” he explained.
The Chairperson of the Public Health Pharmacy Seminary Association (Hisfarkesmas) PP IAI, Maria Ulfah, said that this program is a breath of fresh air that must be utilized to fulfill the needs of pharmacists in health centers. The person in charge of the Village Pharmacy must be a pharmacist, because only pharmacists have the competence to manage finances, procurement, and pharmaceutical services according to applicable standards.
“Of the 10,300 health centers, only 68% have pharmacists. The rest are still filled by vocational workers or other health workers,” he said.
The Deputy Chairperson for Halal and JKN PP IAI, Abdul Rahem, said the same thing, emphasizing that pharmacies are places where pharmacists practice pharmacy, not other health workers.
“Pharmacies are not just places to buy and sell medicines, but centers for public health education. Technical, managerial, and normative and ethical aspects must be maintained so that services remain of high quality,” he said.
Meanwhile, from the Community Pharmacy Seminary Association (Hisfarma), Surya Wahyudi stated that Hisfarma is ready to support with studies and training on appropriate management systems and the importance of feasibility studies.
“Not all villages can immediately have a Village Pharmacy. There must be an analysis of which ones are ready, which ones are not,” he said.
With broad support from experts and professional organizations, Village Pharmacy is believed to be able to become a strong foundation in realizing equal access to health services to remote areas of the archipelago.
