BPOM Issues Guidelines for Drug Management in Village Pharmacies

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The National Agency of Drug and Food Control (BPOM) has issued guidelines for drug management in village pharmacies as a form of support for one of President Prabowo Subianto’s priority government programmes, namely the Merah Putih Village Cooperative (Kopdes). “It is planned that in all 83,000 Merah Putih Cooperatives, some will also open village pharmacies. Therefore, we have issued guidelines for drug management in village pharmacies,” said BPOM Head Taruna Ikrar during a hearing with Commission IX of the House of Representatives (DPR) at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta on Monday. According to Taruna, this step is also part of his agency’s commitment to strengthening the village-based healthcare service ecosystem, in line with President Prabowo Subianto’s directives. It is known that the drug management guidelines were prepared to support pharmaceutical service standards at the village level. Not only that, the guidelines also aim to enhance the capacity of human resources involved in drug management so that services to the community can run optimally. In addition to issuing the drug management guidelines, BPOM has also prepared an official letter regarding the initiative to support the Merah Putih Village Cooperative. Furthermore, BPOM has issued the latest regulation, namely BPOM Regulation No. 5 of 2026, which covers the supervision of village pharmacy management. According to Taruna, this regulation serves as an important foundation for supervision, given the planned development of village pharmacies within the Merah Putih Cooperative network, projected to reach around 83,000 units across Indonesia. On the same occasion, Taruna stated that the support measures for village pharmacies from the Merah Putih Village Cooperative are intended to ensure that drug management in village pharmacies meets the established standards, both in terms of quality, safety, and efficacy. “We want to ensure that drug management in village pharmacies meets the established standards, both in terms of quality, safety, and efficacy,” he said.