In the community, there are often various problems in the use of drugs, such as inappropriate use of over-the-counter drugs and lack of understanding of how to use, store and dispose of drugs properly. Another problem is the inappropriate use of antibiotics in the community. This is due to the lack of public understanding and wrong behavior in the use of drugs.

The use of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs without adequate knowledge and information can lead to new health problems, such as over-dosing, inappropriate duration, adverse events, drug interactions/drug abuse, and so on.

Inappropriate and excessive use of antibiotics can actually increase the incidence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) or bacterial resistance to antibiotics. If this continues it will be very dangerous, where if there is a bacterial infection but there is no antibiotic that can kill the bacteria because it is resistant.

To overcome all these problems, it is necessary to educate the public. On November 13, 2015, coinciding with the commemoration of National Health Day, the Minister of Health launched the Smart Community Using Medicine Movement (GeMaCerMat). This movement is a joint effort between the government and the community through a series of activities in order to realize public awareness, understanding and skills in using drugs appropriately and correctly.

This time, the GeMaCerMat Socialization was held in Bengkulu Province, with Kepahiang Regency selected as the pilot Regency. The targets of the activity are community groups and Posyandu cadres by involving professional organizations, especially the Indonesian Pharmacists Association and other relevant government institutions and stake holders.

Elva Hartati, a member of the House of Representatives Commission IX, was also present; the Head of Kepahiang District Health Office and several heads of district health offices in Bengkulu; the Head of Bengkulu Provincial Health Office; and also the Regent of Kepahiang who also officially opened the GeMa CerMat Socialization event.

The enthusiasm of the participants who attended this event was evident from the active group discussions and drug consultation simulations that were carried out. The health cadres who participated in this event seemed to master various things that must be known and understood in understanding information about drugs, using drugs according to the correct rules, and how to store and dispose of drugs properly. This is of course very important considering that they are tasked with disseminating this information to the community. The pharmacists who were selected as agents of change (AoC) were also active in providing education.

It is hoped that from this activity, the people of Kepahiang Regency will realize the smart use of drugs.