TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Pharmaceutical businessmen have thrown their weight behind President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s plans to lower the import duties on medicines and equipment to treat cancer. They said so far the country was still relying on imported medicines, which were relatively more expensive.

“We truly support [the plans], because cancer medicines are expensive. On the other hand, cancer is a serious disease that requires intensive treatment. Meanwhile, there are only three or four factories that produce cancer medicines, so we are still dependent on imported medicines,” pharmaceutical businessman Anthony Ch Soenarjo told Tempo on Friday, April 6, 2018.

Moreover, he added, the Healthcare and Social Security Agency [BPJS Kesehatan] was mulling over plans to cease covering expenses of several diseases, including cancer, whose expenses would be jointly covered by BPJS Kesehatan and patients.

Read: Jokowi Gives 5 Bikes to Children of Cancer Patients

The suggestion to slash the import duties on medicines and equipment for cancer treatment surfaced when Jokowi met with the officials of the Indonesian Children Cancer Foundation at the Bogor Palace on Friday, April 6, 2018.

“I’ve listened to suggestions, including the regulations of import duties on medicines and their equipment. I will follow this up,” the president said at the Bogor Palace on Friday, April 6, 2018.

Jokowi added he would order Health Minister Nila Moeloek and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati to dwell on the issue. “The health minister and finance minister will talk about this, because this affects our children’s future,” he said.

Responding to the presidential request, Health Minister Nina Moeloek admitted that some medicines and equipment to treat cancer were not produced in the country, thus imports were inevitable.

“For the sake of humanity, we suggest [the import duties] be lowered. This has to be discussed with the Finance Ministry. Not only on the medicines, but the equipment as well,” she said.

DEWI NURITA