Organisations Fighting Poverty in Indonesia Amidst the Global Pandemic

After reaching a single-digit poverty rate for the first time only two years ago, it is predicted that the damages caused by the Covid-19 pandemic will significantly increase Indonesia’s poverty once again. Yet who are those striving to improve the situation of the most vulnerable and affected Indonesian families in this difficult, unprecedented time?

Poverty in Indonesia: overview

The Indonesian government has done a great deal of work in terms of improving the living conditions of its inhabitants throughout the years. Through providing basic services, such as education, sanitation resources and monetary help, as well as through working sustainably to make them accessible to the whole population, the country’s poverty rate dropped from 40% in 1970 to 11.3% at the end of the 1990s. Further programmes developed in the last two decades, such as National Health Insurance Scheme, Family Hope Program, and Staple Food Program, have decreased this number below 10% (9.82% in March 2018).

However, with the global economic growth estimated to drop up to -3% at the end of the year due to the Coronavirus pandemic, it is predicted that the current economic situation will negatively impact Indonesia, causing a reverse effect to all the positive changes made within its society so far. Simulations undertaken by The World Bank, SMERU and National Development Planning Agency has shown that Indonesia’s poverty rate might again reach up to 10.54–12.4%, pushing additional 3.63–8.5 million of Indonesians into poverty.

Organisations working onsite in Indonesia

Luckily, there are independent organisations dedicated to preventing further poverty development through helping those in need. They work on site in Indonesia and strive to improve the living conditions of its inhabitants through all key sectors.

CARE
is an independent organisation helping in Indonesia since 1967. Having worked on improving infrastructure, food distribution, health and sanitation, as well preserving the local environment and water quality, they now have also been putting their resources into disaster risk reduction, response to climate change and tsunami aid. Throughout the pandemic, they have been
focusing on ensuring food security through sanitisation trainings and cash assistance.

OXFAM
has been actively fighting poverty and inequality in Indonesia ever since its independence in 1957. Oxfam officers work on gender justice, community strengthening, and emergency handling all across Indonesia. In the time of the pandemic, they have been focusing on improving the country’s food security and access, all through supporting small local farmers, especially women, and providing them with both monetary help and training on how to
respond to natural disasters and climate change.

UNDP
or the United Nations Development Programme aims to reduce poverty in Indonesia through reconstructing its society and supporting policy reforms that improve both social and economic
stability of Indonesians. They also work on supporting the social position of women by integrating their roles into development policies and programs.

UNICEF
is another United Nations organisations focusing mainly working with children. UNICEF operates in many key sectors to improve living conditions of Indonesian children. They strive to act upon violations of children rights, work towards strengthening accessible good quality education, and provide technical assistance to improve quality of nutrition services for vulnerable children and women. Nowadays, they also focus on providing wider access to safe water supply facilitating sanitation and hygiene.

WORLD VISION
is another organisation working towards ensuring Indonesian children experience a safe and healthy life, and get all the resources needed for a bright future. They strive to give access to healthcare, protection and good quality education to those youngsters who need it most.

Looking ahead

Despite the pandemic making it difficult for the Indonesian government to keep improving the living conditions of its society, there are other independent organisations taking it in their stride to fight the spread of inequality and poverty amongst the country’s inhabitants.