The meeting, which was attended by representatives of the Provincial Health Office in Indonesia as well as several representatives of Regional Public Hospitals, was intended to bridge problems related to the need and vacancies of drugs in the regions, including in hospitals owned by local governments, with the availability of drugs in the pharmaceutical industry. The Pharmaceutical Industry must take quick actions in responding to the existence of drug vacancies / shortages in one or several places / regions.

Some of the activities carried out by this meeting include: Monitoring and Evaluation of Pharmacist Data Entry in the Pharmaceutical Industry e-report, Exposure of Licensing Policies for Pharmaceutical Production and Distribution Facilities by the Directorate of Deregulation of Business Licensing of the Ministry of Investment / BKPM, Exposure of Drug Consolidated Catalog Procurement Policies in 2024 by the Head of the Bureau of Goods and Services of the Ministry of Health, Monitoring and Evaluation of the Use of Drugs as well as sharing sessions related to the Implementation of e-Purchasing and Drug Vacancies at Abdoel Moeloek Hospital Lampung Province and Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital (RSCM).

In her remarks, Director of Pharmaceutical Production and Distribution Dita Novianti Sugandi Argadiredja, S.Si, Apt., MM said that in an effort to improve pharmaceutical resilience, the Ministry of Health has issued Decree No. HK.01.07/MENKES/1333/2023 concerning Increasing the Use of Pharmaceutical Preparations Using Domestic Raw Materials, which stipulates that the procurement of goods/services for central and regional governments and private institutions via e-catalog must prioritize pharmaceutical preparations with domestic raw materials that have a TKDN value of at least 52% for drugs and traditional medicines, at least 70% for vaccines and serums.

In accordance with the mandate of Law Number 17 of 2023 concerning Health, the Ministry of Health continues to strive to improve the availability, equity and affordability of medicines. These efforts are contained in the third pillar of health transformation, namely pharmaceutical and medical device security. To improve the availability, equity, and affordability of drugs needed in health efforts, cooperation and collaboration between the central and regional governments are needed.

The Ministry of Health continues to improve the availability, equity, and affordability of medicines. One of them is through monitoring the production plan and realization of drug production every quarter. In this meeting we intend to bridge the needs and vacancies of drugs in the regions, including hospitals owned by local governments, with the availability of drugs in the pharmaceutical industry. The pharmaceutical industry must take quick actions in responding to drug vacancies / shortages in one or several places / regions.

"Drug vacancies occur due to various obstacles, one of which is the uneven distribution of drugs. Therefore, monitoring of drug availability must always and continuously be carried out by PBF and the Pharmaceutical Industry," said Dita Novianti.