Indonesia’s Health Minister, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, has announced plans to increase domestic medicine production to reduce dependence on imports. Speaking at the Health Innovation Festival on November 8, 2024, Budi emphasized the need for Indonesia to strengthen its healthcare resilience and security, especially to prepare for potential future pandemics.
The minister outlined a three-pronged approach to achieve this goal: streamlining permit processes, encouraging partnerships between foreign and local pharmaceutical companies, and implementing incentives to promote the use of locally-produced medicines.
Budi assured that the Health Ministry’s budget of Rp105.64 trillion for 2025 is sufficient to support these initiatives. The existing domestic component level (TKDN) mechanism, established during former President Jokowi’s administration, also aligns with this strategy, fostering greater local production in the pharmaceutical sector.
Indonesia remains highly reliant on imports, with over 90% of pharmaceutical materials and 52% of medical devices sourced from abroad, as reported by Tempo in July 2024. This dependence contributes to higher medicine prices in the country, underscoring the urgency for increased local manufacturing capacity.
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