Jakarta – The government continues to be committed to improving the quality and equality of health services throughout the country. One concrete step that has proven to have a significant impact is the development of Village Pharmacies, as the frontline in ensuring the availability of medicines and pharmaceutical services to remote villages in the country.
The General Chairperson of the Central Board of the Indonesian Pharmacists Association (PP IAI), Apt Noffendri Roestam, said that his party supports the Village Pharmacy program according to Presidential Instruction No. 9 of 2025 because it reaches all corners of the country.
“The Red and White Village Cooperative will carry out activities including Village/Sub-district Pharmacies, which will be spread across 80,000 villages/sub-districts throughout Indonesia,” said Noffendri.
Noffendri hopes that this program will run well and provide great benefits to the community.
“For IAI, our focus is on how the Village/Sub-district Pharmacy can really run well, so that the initial goal can be achieved,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Director General of Pharmacy and Medical Devices at the Ministry of Health, Lucia?Rizka Andalucia, said that with the existence of village pharmacies, the medicines needed by the community can be affordable.
“This cooperative pharmacy is not only a place for distributing drugs, but can also be a center for health promotion at the sub-district or village level,” said Lucia.
The Coordinating Minister for Food, Zulkifli Hasan, also said that the existence of Village Pharmacies is a real form of synergy between the central government, local governments, and the community in realizing an inclusive and equitable health system. The presence of Village Pharmacies is a real solution for people who have had difficulty accessing health services.
“There are already 30 thousand Poskesdes that need to be integrated with Kopdes Merah Putih. There are another 20 thousand Pustu. If combined, 50 thousand villages already have health services,” said Zulkifli.
More than just a place to sell medicine, the Village Pharmacy also functions as a center for health education, promotion of a healthy lifestyle, and strengthening the referral system. With the presence of the Village Pharmacy, Indonesia is getting closer to its great ideal, a health system that is equitable, quality, and touches all levels of society.*
