By: Prabowo Subianto [excerpted from “National Transformation Strategy: Towards Golden Indonesia 2045,” pages 166-167, 4th softcover edition]
For the first time in Indonesian history, under President Joko Widodo’s leadership, we’ve brought the poverty level down to a single-digit figure, under 10% of our population.
This achievement in reducing poverty is largely due to the social welfare card programs initiated by President Jokowi. The introduction of the Healthy Indonesia Card, Smart Indonesia Card, Sembako Card, among others, has profoundly improved the livelihoods of tens of millions in need.
Yet, the mission to eradicate poverty in Indonesia continues. Is it achievable? Absolutely.
Take China as an example—a nation with a 1.4 billion-strong population that managed to eliminate poverty in 2021 through precise and efficient poverty alleviation efforts.
The lingering poverty in Indonesia signals that economic growth has not been fully effective or widespread. The government is obligated to keep providing social security to the impoverished.
As such, initiatives like the Healthy Indonesia Card, Smart Indonesia Card, Sembako Card, Pre-Employment Card, MEKAR, and the Family Hope Program must not only persist but also expand.
In addition to reinforcing these initiatives, particularly to combat stunting, we propose the Healthy Child Card. This will ensure every Indonesian child’s health, supporting proper nutrition in and out of school and guaranteeing timely immunizations and vaccinations.
Supporting the needy is crucial, but so is aiding those poised for independence and growth. We propose rolling out loans for Agricultural, Livestock, Fisheries, Plantation, Food Industry, Fishermen, Coastal Businesses, SMEs, Startups, and Millennials.
These measures aim to be at the forefront of boosting entrepreneurship, tackling poverty, and elevating the Human Development Index (HDI). Our goal is to lower the poverty rate to below 7% and reach a very high level of human development (an HDI of over 80) by 2029.
