Medical Devices And Drugs In Indonesia Are Expensive Compared To Overseas, Commission X Of The DPR Reveals The Cause

Member of Commission IX DPR PAN Faction, Saleh Partaonan Daulay (Nailin/VOI)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo emphasized that the price of medical devices (alkes) and medicines in Indonesia could be cheaper than abroad. This was said by Jokowi when holding a meeting on the high prices and medical devices of the Republic of Indonesia at the State Palace, Jakarta, Tuesday, July 2.

Member of Commission IX of the House of Representatives from the PAN faction, Saleh Partaonan Daulay, revealed a number of reasons that caused medical devices and medicines in Indonesia to be more expensive. First, the majority of the raw materials for drugs are still imported from abroad.

"Almost 90 percent of raw materials for drugs are still imported. As a result, there has been an increase in prices in the domestic procurement process," Saleh told reporters, Wednesday, July 3.

Second, Saleh continued, technology to produce medical devices and drugs in Indonesia is still far behind with other countries.

"In other countries, for example China, drugs and medical devices can be produced quickly because they use cutting-edge technology. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, time and energy need time. That time and energy will certainly cause production costs to increase," he explained.

Third, there are still underprivileged Indonesian experts. According to Saleh, Indonesia still needs skilled workers so that medical devices and domestic medicines can be produced with the same quality as those abroad.

Fourth, drug-producing companies in Indonesia are still not strong. Saleh said, the products are still less competitive with other products.

"Moreover, our people's thinking is still assessing that foreign medicine must be better and more effective. This will certainly cause domestic drug distribution and consumption to lag behind," he continued.

Therefore, the chairman of the PAN faction in the DPR advised the government to focus on increasing capacity and quality ranging from medicinal raw materials, human resources (HR) to technology.

"All potentials that exist in the country must be maximized to overcome this. Competition with other countries is getting clearer. Therefore, the government must make policies that can increase Indonesia's competitive value in the midst of global regulations," said Saleh.

In line with that, Saleh assessed, the government needs to provide affirmations to drug producers in Indonesia who excel. "In fact, there are also companies in Indonesia that are able to produce vaccines and export them to 140 countries. This is one example that the government needs to intervene directly," said Saleh.

The legislator for the North Sumatra electoral district also asked the government to maintain a policy of prioritizing domestic products to protect local industries.

"The Domestic Component Level (TKDN) is a protection for local industries. If the government buys domestic products, it will automatically guarantee the growth of existing companies," he concluded.