Indonesia reports gains in poverty reduction and social welfare

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia’s Social Affairs Ministry has continued to strengthen social rehabilitation services for vulnerable groups and promote greater economic self-reliance among the poorest families during the first two years of President Prabowo Subianto’s administration.

Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf said on Tuesday that progress had been made in social rehabilitation for persons with disabilities and older people, as well as in helping more families rise out of poverty.

He said the ministry had provided therapy services to more than 13,000 persons with disabilities, while 1,535 people had received equivalency education services.

“The procurement of assistive devices also increased, from 5,257 units in 2025 to 6,756 units in 2026,” he said.

He added that the number of beneficiaries of the Social Rehabilitation Assistance (ATENSI) program who successfully established independent businesses rose from 5,031 in 2025 to 7,455 in 2026.

In the economic empowerment sector, more families moved out of poverty, with the number rising from more than 77,339 in 2025 to more than 146,578 in 2026.

According to Yusuf, the increase was also supported by the Integrated Prosperous Homes program, under which the number of housing units provided rose from 784 in 2025 to more than 7,914 in 2026.

The transformation in social welfare administration was accompanied by improvements in the management of social assistance beneficiary data through Presidential Instruction No. 4 of 2025, which led to the establishment of the National Single Socio-Economic Data (DTSEN).

The ministry, in collaboration with other relevant ministries and agencies and regional governments, completed field verification of 14.4 million families using DTSEN-based data. Meanwhile, more than 18 million families received staple food assistance through the Non-Cash Food Assistance (BPNT) program.

Through October 2026, the ministry had distributed 202,201 emergency logistics aid packages to natural disaster victims, along with 2,486 social recovery aid packages and 13,106 additional recovery aid packages for victims of social and non-natural disasters.

The ministry also provided targeted post-disaster assistance in Aceh, West Sumatra, and North Sumatra.

The support included compensation for 1,140 victims, living allowances for 646,037 people, household furnishing assistance for 268,899 families, and socioeconomic stimulus assistance for 161,207 families.

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Translator: Prasetyo, Kenzu
Editor: M Razi Rahman
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