Meeting with Commission VIII of the House, Minister of Social Affairs: We Accelerate Poverty Reduction Management, Not to Maintain the Poverty

JAKARTA (February 8, 2023) – The government is continuing the accelerated poverty reduction program in Indonesia so that the poor can quickly get out of their cycle of poverty. Following the duties and functions of the Ministry of Social Affairs, poverty alleviation is carried out in various social rehabilitation, social empowerment, and social protection programs.

“We continue to handle poverty so they can quickly escape poverty. So, poverty is not to be maintained, ”said Social Affairs Minister Tri Rismaharini after a Working Meeting with Commission VIII at the House Building, Jakarta, Wednesday (8/2/2023).

To carry out various programs of social rehabilitation, social empowerment, and social protection, support is needed from an adequate budget as well as collaboration and synergy with other related parties.

"We are communicating with Commission VIII about the budget being blocked by the Ministry of Finance. It will be opened as a form of support for accelerating poverty reduction carried out by the Ministry of Social Affairs. During the pandemic, our budget was IDR 91 trillion and after the pandemic assistance was removed, now the Ministry of Social Affairs' budget is IDR 74 trillion," she said.

Poverty reduction management by the Ministry of Social Affairs through the Directorate General of Social Rehabilitation, one of which is through the Assistance for Social Rehabilitation (ATENSI) program which beneficiaries have felt.

The assistance provided is in the form of food and additional nutrition, aid for persons with disabilities, and assistance for entrepreneurship. Recipients of the ATENSI program are the elderly who have been registered in the Integrated Social Welfare Data (DTKS) and have not received the social assistance program from the Ministry of Social Affairs.

ATENSI aims to achieve individual, family, and community social functioning to fulfill basic needs and rights, carry out social duties and roles, and overcome problems in life.

The support for meeting basic needs is one of the implementations of ATENSI to make the elderly achieve social functioning. This is because support for meeting the needs of a decent life is a hope for every social welfare service recipient (PPKS).