The development of Natural Medicines (OBA) in Indonesia is getting serious attention, in line with the Ministry of Health's commitment to transform the health system through six main pillars that support the sustainability of the National Health System. Experience during the global pandemic has highlighted the importance of resilience in the pharmaceutical sector, which encourages strategic initiatives to utilize the potential of Indonesia's abundant natural wealth.

Indonesia sebagai salah satu pusat keanekaragaman hayati terbesar (mega biodiversity) di dunia, memiliki potensi luar biasa untuk mengembangkan Obat Bahan Alam, Dengan 143 juta hektar hutan tropis, dan 31.750 spesies tumbuhan, Indonesia memiliki sumber daya yang melimpah untuk dijadikan bahan baku obat, demikian disampaikan Direktur Ketahanan Kefarmasian dan Alat Kesehatan Roy Himawan saat membuka acara Coaching Clinic dan Business Matching Pengembangan Obat Bahan Alam secara online pada 21 Agustus 2024.

Furthermore, Himawan revealed that according to the results of the research on Medicinal Plants and Herbs (Ristoja) conducted by the Indonesian Ministry of Health, there are 32,014 ingredients of Natural Medicines and 2,848 species of medicinal plants have been used for treatment. “With the great potential that Indonesia has in the development of Natural Medicines (OBA), we hope that OBA can become a substitute for drugs and reduce dependence on imported drugs. Currently, Indonesia has recorded more than 15,000 traditional medicines, 77 standardized herbal medicine products, and 20 phytopharmaca products registered at the POM Agency, and the number is expected to continue to grow,” Himawan said.

Law 17 of 2023 on Health has opened up great opportunities for the use and development of OBA by regulating the standard requirements that must be met. Himawan emphasized the importance of OBA availability, quality, and sustainability to ensure that the products produced are not only safe, but also of high quality.

However, behind these opportunities, there are still challenges to be faced, especially related to the standards of medicinal plants used as OBA, some of which are still dependent on imports. To overcome this, Himawan invites all parties to collaborate across sectors, so that the availability of safe and quality OBA materials can be guaranteed.

Coaching Clinic and Business Matching Meeting held in Surabaya on August 21-23, 2024 was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, BPOM, the East Java Provincial Agriculture and Food Security Office, as well as the Indonesian Association of Natural Ingredient and Spice Extract Industries (AIRINDO), GP Jamu, Research Institutions, Industry and Traditional Medicine Small Businesses in the East Java Region.

This activity not only presents material from resource persons, but is also equipped with an exhibition of OBA ingredients. Through business matching and coaching clinic sessions, it is expected to improve the quality of OBA ingredients used by business actors as well as an effective matchmaking forum between natural medicine extract providers and natural medicine producers.

Through this forum, it is hoped that mutually beneficial cooperation can be established between natural extract providers and producers, as well as increasing the understanding of business actors regarding the requirements that must be met to produce quality products. Increasing the use of domestic products is also a government priority, with the hope of supporting independence and creating a good OBA ecosystem in Indonesia.

Evaluation results from business matching between five natural extract industries and two research institutions with 16 traditional medicine industries and small businesses showed promising potential for cooperation. A total of 41.27% of participants showed interest in collaborating in the near future. This is a positive step to increase capacity and access to quality OBA ingredients, and reduce dependence on imports.

On this occasion, Himawan also gave appreciation to the participants who had actively participated, emphasizing that synergistic collaboration is the key to achieving success in building a better Indonesia “Let us continue to collaborate to encourage the development of natural medicine in the country!” he exclaimed.