“We have made that many interventions,” Acting Governor Heru Budi Hartono informed here on Tuesday.
He said that the social assistance has been provided under programs such as the Healthy Jakarta Card, the Smart Jakarta Card, transportation assistance, the Family Hope Program, the school children program, and free Internet assistance, among other things.
The acting governor said he preferred not to criticize data on extreme poverty as long as it matched the names and addresses of the people so that the ranks under him could take further action.
Nevertheless, he said that the Jakarta government will synchronize the data with the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN), Statistics Indonesia (BPS), and the Ministry of Health so that the distribution of assistance is right on target.
“I have asked the BKKBN to give an explanation and help Jakarta. Likewise, with BPS. Our hope is the minister of health would discuss, synchronize the data correctly,” he added.
Earlier, the BPS of Jakarta reported that as of March 2022, there were 95,668 extremely poor residents in Jakarta, who accounted for 0.89 percent of Jakarta’s total population of around 10.7 million.
People are categorized as extremely poor if their purchasing power is below Rp11 thousand per day or Rp350 thousand per month.
The agency recorded 35 thousand extremely poor people in North Jakarta in 2022, a sharp increase from 7.2 thousand in 2021.
In South Jakarta, the number stood at 25 thousand in 2022 compared to 24 thousand in 2021. Then, in East Jakarta, the number reached 18 thousand in 2022, up from 10 thousand in 2021.
According to the agency, some of the characteristics of the homes of people living in extreme poverty are an earthen floor, lack of toilets, lack of access to clean drinking water, and a floor area of less than 8 square meters per capita.
Related news: Jakarta should not have cases of extreme poverty: BKKBN
Related news: DPRD supports governor's plan to launch lifetime assistance for elders
Related news: Social welfare improvement a priority in 2023: Minister Effendy
Translator: Dewa Ketut, Raka Adji
Editor: Sri Haryati
Copyright © ANTARA 2023
