Ministry of Social Affairs Presents Continues to Distribute Aid for the Vulnerable Groups Affected by COVID-19

JAKARTA (April 19th 2020) - Ministry of Social Affairs present as an effort to create a social safety net. One of the efforts made is to continue distributing social assistance to communities affected by COVID-19.

On Friday (17/04) the Ministry of Social Affairs handed over 6,839 packages of social assistance (bansos) for basic foods for persons with disabilities and 4,673 packages for the elderly throughout Jabodetabek. Delivery of assistance was carried out at the "Tan Miyat" Social Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Visual Sensory Disabilities (BRSPDSN) and the "Budi Dharma" Center for Elderly Social Rehabilitation (BRSLU).

The handover of basic food assistance was carried out in accordance with the direction of the Minister of Social Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Juliari P. Batubara as a form of social safety net for persons with disabilities and elderly people affected by COVID-19. The goal is to help fulfill the basic needs of persons with disabilities and elderly people affected by COVID-19 in the Jabodetabek area.

To avoid crowds as a measure to anticipate the spread of COVID-19, aid delivery was provided through representatives from 8 Social Service Agencies, 20 Social Welfare Institutions (LKS) and 13 Disabled Persons Organizations (OPD), and 93 Elderly Social Welfare Institutions (LKS- LU).

The Director General of Social Rehabilitation of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Harry Hikmat accompanied by the Director of Social Rehabilitation for the Elderly, Andi Hanindito had the opportunity to directly observe the process of handing over the basic food assistance. Harry said that this assistance was the support from the Directorate General of Social Protection and Security.

"Apart from involving social institutions or LKS, we also involve OPDs in the distribution of assistance for people with disabilities and the elderly, as a form of the Ministry of Social Affairs' commitment to ensure that in situations affected by COVID-19, there are efforts to ease the burden on expenses for persons with disabilities and elderly in meeting his needs," explained Harry.

In the near future, the Ministry of Social Affairs will also provide regular assistance to a total of 70,509 Beneficiaries (PM) with details, namely through the Directorate of Social Rehabilitation for Child, regular social assistance will be provided to 7,000 children / PM

Through the Directorate of Social Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities, the Ministry of Social Affairs will also immediately disburse regular social assistance for assistance for 23,700 people with disabilities / PM. This distribution is carried out by the Ministry of Social Affairs' Cibinong Hall.

Meanwhile, from the Directorate of Social Rehabilitation for Victims of Drug Abuse, regular social assistance will be given to 2,962 PM in the form of inpatient social rehabilitation assistance and regular social assistance in the form of outpatient costs for 6,537 PM.

Assistance through the Directorate of Social Rehabilitation for Elderly in the form of regular social assistance for 27,460 PM.

It is different with the Directorate of Social Tuna and Victims of Human Trafficking, the regular social assistance that will be provided is adjusted to the target. The target of the Former Public Correctional Assistance (BWBP) with a target of 80 PM and the target of the BWBP of Terrorism with a target of 50 PM.

Then, the target of prostitutes will be given assistance with a target of 50 PM, the target of minority groups will be given assistance with a target of 50 PM, the target of victims human trafficking with a target of 2,000 PM.

For the ODHA Independence target, it is targeted that 300 PM will be given assistance, the ODHA KIE target is 90 PM, the Solo Shelter PLHIV target is 30 PM and the AS LKS ODHA target is 200 PM.

Harry also emphasized that the Ministry of Social Affairs will continue to monitor to ensure that the assistance is well distributed to all social rehabilitation clusters, namely children, persons with disabilities, victims of drug abuse, the elderly and victims of human trafficking, both those who are still living in or at their homes.