He then asked the participants attending the “2023 National Coordination Meeting (Rakornas) of Regional Heads and the Regional Leadership Coordination Forum (Forkopimda)” at the Sentul International Convention Center, Bogor, West Java, on Tuesday to follow up on this matter.
"Everything is already listed in the data. Which means the target is already being prepared. I believe all local governments understand the interventions and policies needed to alleviate extreme poverty," he said in his opening remarks at the meeting, which was broadcast live on the official YouTube channel of the Presidential Secretariat.
The data related to extreme poverty should already exist in every village across Indonesia, he added. With this facility, he said he hoped local governments would focus on carrying out policies regarding this matter.
Nevertheless, the head of state reminded that the target of reducing extreme poverty to zero percent in 2024 will not be an easy one to achieve.
Moreover, there are currently 14 provinces where the extreme poverty rate is above the national rate.
"All regional heads please check this; there are 14 provinces that are still above the national rate. Even though our target in 2024 is zero extreme poverty, this is not an easy target. In 2022, there was still 2 percent extreme poverty and 14 provinces (whose poverty rate was) above the national average," he said.
Earlier, Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy said that tackling extreme poverty and stunting will be a priority in 2023. According to him, the two problems overlap.
"The cause of stunting is motivated by extreme poverty, such as obstacles in accessing basic needs, access to clean water, sanitation facilities, and others," he noted.
Effendy said that a number of specific and sensitive interventions related to extreme poverty and stunting will require collaboration and synergy across ministries and agencies to carry out.
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Translator: Gilang Galiartha, Resinta S
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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