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View all search resultsRupiah slide drives up drug costs, burdening chronically ill patients
Tulus Abadi, chairman of the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (FKBI), said soaring medicine and vitamin prices were an unavoidable consequence of the rupiah’s depreciation, noting that between 85 and 90 percent of the raw materials used by Indonesia’s pharmaceutical industry are imported.
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A woman prepares over-the-counter medicines and other health products on July 8, 2021, at a kiosk in Pramuka Market, East Jakarta. (Antara/M. Risyal Hidayat)
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s the rupiah weakens, rising medicine prices are placing an increasing burden on people with chronic illnesses who rely on long-term treatment and daily medication.
Lili Hastuti, a 43-year-old thyroid cancer patient from Medan, North Sumatra, said she was recently forced to interrupt her treatment for two days because she could not afford her medicines amid escalating costs.
“I was diagnosed with cancer six months ago and started taking medication two months ago. Recently, I had to stop for two days because I didn’t have the money to buy the drugs,” she told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview.
Lili said she takes six different medications, costing around Rp 6.2 million (US$349) per month. As a housewife whose husband works as a civil servant, she said the family’s income is not sufficient to cover the ongoing treatment expenses.
She added that she has been relying on financial assistance from her siblings to continue her medication, but remains uncertain how long that support will last amid rising prices.
“Doctors told me I need to take the medicines for six months. I’ve only completed two months of treatment, and I don’t know whether I can afford the remaining four months because the prices are high and I don’t have the money,” she said.
Read also: BPOM tightens OTC drug sales in modern retail outlets
