Ministry supports herbal medicine research

Jakarta (AntaraNews Lampung) - The Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education supports research and development for clinical testing of herbal medicines, so that they can be used more widely.
        
At the 2018 International Herbal Medicine Conference (IHMC) here on Tuesday, the Director General of Technology and Higher Education Resources at the Ministry of Research and Technology, Ali Ghufron Mukti, stated that the government is developing joint research between higher education and the health sector.
        
"I am the Chairperson of the Joint Committee of the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education and the Ministry of Health under the steering committee of the Minister of Research and Technology and the Minister of Health. We have a routine meeting every three months to discuss various kinds of problems face by both sides, including herbal research," Mukti noted.
        
The conference also discussed education for health workers, medical education laws, and the development of academic systems of herbal medicines.
        
He appreciated the 2018 IHMC held at Yarsi University to scientifically document Indonesian herbal medicines that have been used by people since a long time.
        
He hoped that the conference, which is participated by several researchers from various countries such as India, Korea, the U.S., and Indonesia, could develop Indonesia's herbal biodiversity, which can increase the potential of herbal medicines.
        
Mukti hoped herbal medicines, which are more affordable, can replace chemical drugs, especially for serious diseases. In addition, he expected that herbal medicines could be included in the Indonesian National Health Insurance System (BJS) formulary scheme.
        
"Indonesia is different from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan where traditional medicines are included in the scheme. We have not done that yet. We hope this forum can encourage the inclusion of herbal medicines in the national formulary. If it is included in the scheme, it will be very good," he remarked.
        
He added that one of the reasons for not including herbal medicines in the BPJS scheme is because there are differences of opinion among the stakeholders regarding this type of medicine.