PMK Coordinating Minister: ASCC Produces Strategic Ideas to Tackle Poverty
Badung, 7 May 2023 – The 2023 ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Knowledge Forum is an opportunity to produce ideas and formulate strategic measures to overcome poverty.
This was stated by the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture (PMK) of the Republic of Indonesia, Muhadjir Effendy, in his keynote speech during the opening of the ASCC Knowledge Forum which brought up the theme of “Addressing Gaps and Rethinking Pathways to Eradicate Poverty in ASEAN” in Nusa Dua, Badung Regency, Bali Province on Sunday (7 May).
Muhadjir stated that the level of extreme poverty, which refers to people living below the poverty line of 1.9 US dollars at purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita per day, has decreased significantly in the last three decades.
Extreme poverty in ASEAN was 49 percent in the 1990s. Today, it is estimated to be below 10 percent.
Three decades on, the level of extreme poverty in ASEAN member states was below 5 percent in 2020, with several countries even reaching 0 percent, namely Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. Only Laos recorded an extreme poverty rate of 10 percent in 2018.
According to Muhadjir, the success in alleviating poverty over the last three decades and the ability to deal with the rise of poverty due to the impact of the pandemic and global crisis provide a foundation to enrich interventions for poverty alleviation and formulate future strategies.
“The significant and positive development in poverty levels over the past three decades demonstrates that governments of ASEAN member states have a strong commitment to alleviating poverty and creating prosperity for their people,” said Muhadjir.
He acknowledged that poverty alleviation efforts in Indonesia and other ASEAN member states are still facing serious challenges.
He considered the threat of global recession, climate change, and geopolitical factors as the major challenges in poverty alleviation.
To address these impacts, he mentioned that ASEAN needs to formulate a resilient, sustainable, inclusive, and adaptive development agenda for potential crises and unforeseen disasters.
He said that energy and food security must be the main orientation of the government by strengthening social protection and subsidy schemes, especially for the poor and vulnerable groups (such as persons with disabilities, senior citizen, children, and women).
“Moreover, strengthen the business sector through the Real Sector Safety Net and the Financial Sector Safety Net,” said Muhadjir Effendy.
The series of the 42nd ASEAN Summit meetings will take place from 8 May to 11 May 2023. The two main venues of the 42nd ASEAN Summit are Meurorah Komodo Labuan Bajo Hotel and Ayana Labuan Bajo Hotel. ASEAN leaders will discuss several key issues to encourage a stronger ASEAN region in facing challenges and strengthen the economic resilience of ASEAN. These efforts are in line with the theme of Indonesia’s ASEAN Chairmanship: ASEAN Matters – Epicentrum of Growth. (Zubi Antara/TR/Elvira/WW/PPR)
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For more information, please contact:
Director General of Public Information and Communications of the Ministry of Communications and Informatics – Usman Kansong (0816785320).
Get more information at http://asean2023.id, https://infopublik.id/kategori/asean-2023, and https://indonesia.go.id/kategori/ragam-asean-2023