"The government’s role must also be supported by families to ensure our spirit to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic in our country will always remain high," said Wahid, who is also known as a senior politician of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), in a written statement in Jakarta on Monday.
Social solidarity has been formed between the government and the families, united and supporting one another to battle the common enemy, the COVID-19, according to Wahid.
Drawing reference to the latest report from the Charity Aid Foundation (CAF), he noted that Indonesia had scored 69 points on the 2021 World Giving Index, the highest among nations worldwide.
Wahid remarked that the current index score showed a noteworthy increase from the last World Giving Index published in 2018 when Indonesia had scored 59 points. The CAF research also found that up to eight out of 10 Indonesians had donated money in 2021, and the Indonesians’ level of volunteerism was three folds the world average.
The CAF researches showed that Indonesia had sufficient social capital potential to surmount over the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects that have devastated the world since 2020.
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"This 'social capital' of solidarity (among the people) should be strengthened apart from ensuring that the government fulfills its obligations and responsibilities," he stated.
Religious guidance as well as social, familial, and parental functions are also essential to tackle the pandemic, Wahid stated.
Moreover, the deputy speaker noted that based on the NGO Lapor COVID-19 report, at least 2,832 COVID-19 patients had died during their self-isolation period as of July 30, 2021, with at least 2,500 cases in July alone.
He noted that the high number of cases of deaths during self-isolation among patients with increasingly severe symptoms was due to failure to be treated at hospitals already jam-packed with COVID-19 patients. The situation is also made worse by the scarcity of oxygen supplies and medicines necessary for COVID-19 treatment. Related news: Jakarta disburses 90% of social cash aid: deputy governor
Translator: M Zulfikar, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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