Vice President Ma’uf Amin stated in Bandung, West Java, on Wednesday that the government had disbursed additional funds for social aid intended to address extreme poverty in five districts of West Java.

Amin remarked that the government had committed to expediting ways to solve the problem of extreme poverty in seven provinces by the end of 2021, as quoted from the Press, Media and Information Bureau of the Vice President’s Secretariat on Wednesday.

“Additional funding for reduction of extreme poverty through cash social assistance will be offered to five priority districts for reduction of extreme poverty in West Java Province for three months until the end of 2021,” he remarked.

The vice president explained that the measure was an effort to restore the national economy battered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Amin also compelled West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil and the five heads of the prioritized districts to ensure that every beneficiary receives the social assistance.

“Governors and heads of districts should also do better planning and budgeting for extreme poverty reduction programs in their respective regional budget, especially those related to the characteristics of the people in their each regions,” the vice president stated.

The cash social assistance is a social protection program being implemented by the government to address extreme poverty in the nation. The government has also sought to create empowerment programs for the extremely poor people.

West Java is one of the seven provinces that is targeted for addressing extreme poverty by the end of 2021. The five priority districts in West Java have a total of 460,327 extremely poor people and a total of 107,560 extremely poor households.

The number of extremely poor people in Cianjur District reaches 90,480, while 93,480 people in Bandung District, 69,090 people in Kuningan District, 106,690 people in Indramayu District, and 106,780 people in Karawang District.

Source: Antara News