Indonesia is planning to emulate the Indian model of Jan Aushadhi Kendras (government-subsidized generic drug stores) wherein medicines are provided at affordable rates.
"In Indonesia, I want to provide medicines to the people of the best quality and price. I looked around many countries, and I'm convinced that India has the best (medicines). I brought businessmen and government officials to talk and replicate India's model in Indonesia with his (Indian Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya's) permission," Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said in Gujarat on Sunday.
Sadikin's remarks came after he and Mandaviya paid a visit to a Jan Aushadhi Kendra in Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat, during the weekend.
As per a report published in June, citizens of India have saved around $2.5 billion by purchasing medicines from these stores in the last nine years since the first such outlet came into existence.
According to the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Bureau of India (PMBI), the body behind the Jan Aushadhi Kendras, nearly 10,000 such stores were in operation in India in June.
People can buy 1,800 different types of drugs from these outlets, with the number of medicinal products set to touch the 2,000 figure in the next few months.