The Indonesia Government's Effort to Localize Use of Domestic Medical Products

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) instructed his staff to stop importing drugs and medical devices. This decision was made because the cost of importing medical devices (medical equipment) is higher compared to producing them domestically.

"Not only hospitals, but also drugs and medicinal raw materials, do not let us import more medical equipment, medicines, medicinal raw materials. We have to stop to import those goods again and we do it, we produce them ourselves in our country," said the president in Bali, Monday, December 27.

Jokowi stated that approximately two million Indonesian citizens go abroad (Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, America, ect.) to seek health services. As a result, Indonesia incurred a loss of IDR 97 trillion due to this situation.

During the same event, Minister of State-Owned Enterprises, Erick Thohir, mentioned that to reduce the reliance on imported medicinal ingredients, the state-owned company Indofarma would concentrate on growing the herbal sector.

Erick Thohir noted that Indonesia possesses natural resources and cultural heritage that can foster the growth of the herbal industry.

Apart from Erick Thohir, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin also supports the suggestion made by President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo. Budi stated that there are 358 medical devices that could be manufactured domestically. 79 varieties of medical devices are now capable of serving as alternatives to imported products to meet the nation's requirements.

In line with the directive from the President of Indonesia regarding import bans, particularly in the medical field, Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Menko Marves) Luhut Pandjaitan acknowledged that he had convened a meeting with President Joko Widodo to address medical devices

According to information from the Government Goods/Services Procurement Policy Institute (LKPP) covering May 1 to June 2020, domestically produced medical devices were valued at Rp. 2.9 trillion, which is considerably less than the Rp. 12.5 trillion spent on imported medical devices during the same period.

Luhut believes that with the help of investors and support from the president, we can manufacture medical devices ourselves. Therefore, to support the growth of the local medical device industry, the government will implement seven strategic measures to enhance the availability of domestic medical devices in the market.

1. Government will prioritize domestic products through its spending on goods or services (PDN).
2. The government plans to boost the production capacity of local medical devices.
3. Subsidies for TKDN (Domestic Component Level) certification will be provided using PEN (National Economic Recovery) funds.
4. Incentive programs will be introduced to encourage investments in medical devices and pharmaceuticals.
5. Efforts will be made to enhance research-based, high-tech medical equipment.
6. A policy will be implemented to set deadlines for the purchase of imported products.
7. Priority will be given to domestic products in the E-Catalog, an online catalog for government procurement.

He mentioned that Indonesia is different now, and it's important to be part of this change rather than resist it. Although there are challenges, he emphasized that the country is moving forward and making improvements. He expressed hope for the positive changes that are being made to make Indonesia a better place.

Source : voi.id