FOOD ESTATE PROJECTS MUST NOT CONTRIBUTE TO DEFORESTATION, WARN EXPERTS by Fardah

 

Jakarta, 28/3/2021 (ANTARA) - The Indonesian government last year started developing a food estate project in Pulang Pisau district, Central Kalimantan province to ensure national food security and resilience amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

While it is currently spread over 30 thousand hectares of land, the size of the food estate will be extended over the next two years.

 

Now, the food estate project has been expanded to several other regions such as North Sumatra, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), South Sumatra, Papua, and Riau.

 

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on February 23, 2021 reviewed the implementation of a food estate project in Central Sumba district, NTT. Currently spread over five thousand hectares comprising three thousand hectares of rice and two thousand hectares of corn fields, the estate will be eventually expanded to 10 thousand hectares to comprise 5,600 hectares of rice and 4,400 hectares of corn fields.

 

During his visit, Widodo said he is optimistic the food estate will encourage rice farmers in Central Sumba to harvest rice twice a year, and corn and soybean once a year.

 

"As per data I have received, 34 percent of the residents in Central Sumba live in poverty and farmers harvest rice only once a year. We want them to harvest rice twice a year and corn or soybean once a year," Widodo said.

 

To scale up the irrigation system for farming, the government has built a number of reservoirs and dams in NTT, an arid province that often bears the brunt of water shortages.

Indonesia fights to prevent child marriage amid COVID-19 pandemic by Fardah

 Jakarta, March 27 , 2021 (ANTARA) - Eni, a resident of West Nusa Tengga (NTB),  regretted that she allowed her 14-year-old daughter to marry last May 2020. Eni (not her real name) told BBC Indonesia in August last year that her daughter was often beaten by her husband, who was four years older.

She recalled that her daughter insisted to get marriage because she had been often together with her boyfriend since the COVID-19 pandemic that forced students to study from home.

Another a story of a child marriage was about 17-year-old Dini (not her real name), whose life had been disturbed by a powerful earthquake in Central Sulawesi, that destroyed her school and buildings. While staying in refugee camp, she had often spent time with her boyfriend and as a consequence she got pregnant. So, she decided to get married and drop out of school.

Indonesia has been facing double disasters since last year, notably natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The two disasters have been identified of hampering efforts to prevent child married. Economic problem and out-of-wedlock pregnancies often forced girls under 19 years old to get marriage.

Save the Children has warned that up to 2.5 million more girls around the world are at risk of marriage in the next 5 years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic's damage to education and the economy could reverse decades of progress on child marriage and pregnancy.

"COVID-19 has made an already difficult situation for millions of girls even worse. Shuttered schools, isolation from friends and support networks, and rising poverty have added fuel to a fire the world is struggling to put out. But we can and we must extinguish child marriage,” UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said.

Worldwide, an estimated 650 million girls and women alive today were married in childhood, with about half of those occurring in Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, India and Nigeria, according to UNICEF.

“One year into the pandemic, immediate action is needed to mitigate the toll on girls and their families,” Fore said, adding: “By reopening schools, implementing effective laws and policies, ensuring access to health and social services – including sexual and reproductive health services – and providing comprehensive social protection measures for families, we can significantly reduce a girl’s risk of having her childhood stolen through child marriage.”

In certain regions in Indonesia, child marriage practices are quite common. According to the 2018 Socio-economic National Survey (Susenas), one in every nine girls aged 20-24 gets married before the age of 18. Its number is around 1.2 million, manifesting the 8th highest number of child marriages in the world.

INDONESIA SET TO FORGE FORWARD IN TB HANDLING AMID COVID-19 PANDEMIC by Fardah

Jakarta, 25/3/2021 (ANTARA) - Several nations observed Tuberculosis (TB) Day on March 24 in a somber, concerned manner, as the fight against TB, one of the world's deadliest infectious killers, has been hindered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

World TB Day 2021 themed The Clock is Ticking" aims to send across the message that the world is running out of time to act on commitments made by global leaders to end TB.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that daily, nearly four thousand people die of TB and close to 28 thousand people fall ill with this preventable and curable disease.

Global efforts to combat TB have saved an estimated 63 million lives since the year 2000. However, since 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began spreading in over 200 countries, TB handling has experienced a regress, according to the WHO.

The effects of COVID-19 go far beyond the death and disease caused by the virus itself. The disruption to essential services for people with TB is just one tragic example of the ways the pandemic is disproportionately affecting some of the worlds poorest people, who were already at the higher risk for TB, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director-general, stated.

The pandemic has greatly exacerbated the situation. An estimated 1.4 million fewer people received care for TB in 2020 as compared to the previous year, or a reduction of 21 percent from 2019, according to preliminary data compiled by the UN health agency from over 80 countries.

Among countries with the biggest relative gaps were Indonesia, at 42 percent; followed by South Africa, 41 percent; the Philippines, 37 percent; and India, 25 percent.

The Indonesian Health Ministry's Director of Prevention and Control of Direct Communicable Diseases (P2PML) Siti Nadia Tarmizi recently quoted a study analyzing TB patients that only 24 percent of the people, who recognized the TB symptoms they experienced, had visited health facilities for a medical check-up.

Bank Sharia Indonesia vying for place among leading Islamic banks by Fardah

 Jakarta, March 20, 2021 (ANTARA) - Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim majority country, may have been rather late in entering the Islamic (sharia) business compared to other countries, but the mood in the nation is upbeat that it is catching up thanks to several advantages.

The Southeast Asian country is projected to have a population of 184 million Muslim adults, of which over 50 percent are from the upper middle class and mostly work in the private sector.

Besides, the nation's Islamic financial services are growing at a swift pace even as the pandemic ploughs on. Indonesia’s Islamic banking assets in 2020 grew by 10.9 percent, while the conventional ones only clocked 7.7-percent growth.

Likewise with third-party funds — Islamic banking recorded an increase of 11.56 percent, slightly superior to conventional banks, which registered a rise of 11.49 percent.

"In terms of financing, Islamic banking recorded the largest growth of 9.4 percent, far ahead of conventional banking that only grew by 0.55 percent. In addition, the market share of the Islamic capital market has reached 17.39 percent, and the number of cooperatives for savings and loans and sharia financing has reached 4,115 units," State Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir, concurrently chairman of the Sharia Economic Community, informed.

He said the development of Islamic economics and finance in Indonesia won it accolades from the international community in 2020.

This was apparent from the Islamic Finance Development Report 2020, which placed Indonesia in the second place globally and the Global Islamic Economy Indicator 2020, which placed Indonesia in the fourth position globally.

To strengthen the national sharia economy, the government on February 1 this year merged the sharia compliant subsidiaries of three state-owned lenders — Bank Mandiri, Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), and Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) to form Bank Sharia Indonesia (BSI).

BSI is expected to be one of the largest sharia banks in Indonesia and also the world, with total assets of Rp214 trillion and core capital of Rp20.4 trillion. It is also expected to propel the development of the halal value chain in the country. Based on the global index, Indonesia’s ranking in sharia economy and finance is among the top 10 in the fields of finance, food, and fashion,

Indonesia prepares for self-funded vaccination campaign by Fardah

Jakarta, March 17, 2021 (Antara) -  To achieve the target of inoculating 181.5 million people within a year, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin is planning to administer 1.5 million COVID-19 jabs every day from the second half of this year once adequate vaccines become available.

"As many as 75 percent of the vaccines will become available starting July (2021). (The vaccination target is) 181.5 million people, and (it means) 363 million doses (of vaccines will need to be administered). (If) divided by 365 days, it (the vaccination target) is one million a day, if the vaccines are available. The vaccines will become available in the second semester, which is a lot. Second semester. My calculation that (we will have to administer) 1.5 million vaccine jabs per day," Sadikin informed the press recently.

The minister urged Indonesians to exercise patience whilst waiting for their turn to get vaccinated. Owing to the current limitations on vaccine supplies, only 24 percent of the population, particularly health workers and senior citizens, are being inoculated, he explained.

Indonesia has so far used vaccines developed by China's Sinovac, which has supplied both ready-to-use and bulk vaccines to be further processed by Bio Farma, Indonesia's state-owned pharmaceutical company.

With the planned arrival of 75 percent of fresh vaccine doses between July and December this year, the government will have no option but to push the program to its maximum capacity during that period.

“For the vaccinations, we plan to buy 426 million doses of vaccines. Of the total, the prices and delivery schedules of 275 million doses have been confirmed,” Sadikin said during a hearing with Commission IX of the House of Representatives on March 15, 2021.

The prices and delivery schedules of the remaining 151 million doses of vaccines are yet to be confirmed as the government is waiting for free vaccines from the COVAX Facility, coordinated by the WHO and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), he informed.

Indonesia has so far received 11.7 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from the COVAX Facility. Based on the latest information, Indonesia may receive 54 million to 108 million doses of vaccines under the multilateral arrangement.

"If you can get as much as possible for free, then you don't need to buy bilateral vaccines. This is still on the move. We all know that (procurement of) vaccines remains a worldwide struggle," he added.

To administer the vaccines on target, there is a need to increase the vaccination capacity.

INDONESIA ROPES IN MILITARY, POLICE TO BOOST VACCINATIONS by Fardah

 

Jakarta, 12/3/2021 (ANTARA) - The Joko Widodo Administration has set a very ambitious target of completing the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination program within one year.

 

The government is aiming to vaccinate around 182 million Indonesians, or around 70 percent of the country's population of 271 million. This means that about one million people will need to be vaccinated daily to achieve the one-year target.

 

This would require the Health Ministry to mobilize all resources and synergize as well as establish cooperation with several parties to support the implementation of the vaccination program.

 

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has approached the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) and National Police (Polri) to fast-track the implementation of COVID-19 vaccinations and intensify contact tracing.

 

"This necessitates synergy with various parties since the Ministry of Health cannot do it alone," he said.

 

The TNI and Polri have several healthcare workers who can be empowered to administer vaccines. "We invite all TNI (members) to function as vaccinators, as what is required now is people that can inject vaccines," he pointed out.

 

However, the current requirement is for locations for the vaccination program, and a drive-through vaccination service could be one solution, he remarked.

 

The Health Ministry had earlier collaborated with Halodoc and Gojek for the implementation of vaccinations, particularly to offer COVID-19 Vaccination Service Posts through a drive-through mechanism.

 

But, it is the limited number of vaccines that has posed the main challenge to the vaccination process. The issue has become a hot topic worldwide and several countries have yet to commence vaccinations.

MICRO-RESTRICTIONS BRING MARKED DECLINE IN COVID-19 CASES By Fardah

 

Jakarta, 11/3 / 2021(ANTARA) - After struggling to contain the coronavirus pandemic over the last one year, Indonesia finally managed to bring down the number of daily infections to 5,633 cases on March 11, 2021, a significant decline compared to 14,518 cases recorded on January 30, 2021.

The countrys total COVID-19 tally touched 1,398,578 cases as of March 11 this year, with the death toll recorded at 37,932 and total recoveries at 1,216,433 since the government announced the first confirmed cases on March 2, 2020.

The nation has been working hard to fight the viral infection that peaked last year and in January, 2021, prompting the government to change its COVID-19 handling strategy.

This year, the government has shifted from large-scale social distancing measures to micro-scale public activity restrictions (PPKM), first imposed on January 11-25 and then extended several times. Recently, the PPKM was extended from March 9 to March 22, 2021.

Under the governments micro-level approach, PPKMs are being enforced starting from the levels of villages and neighborhoods (RTs and RWs), with the central task force to the smallest units of the COVID-19 task force, as well as civil legal enforcers and military police roped in for the purpose, particularly for contact tracing efforts.

PPKMs were first imposed in around 22 thousand villages in seven provinces Jakarta, West Java, Banten, Central Java, Yogyakarta, East Java, and Bali.

By the end of February, 2021, the strategy had been expanded to other regions and as many as 22,832 COVID-19 posts were established in 30 provinces.

GULAI TAHU⁣⁣ Oleh @maybelin_ma .⁣⁣

 Bahan :⁣⁣

6 bh Tahu kecil, belah dua & goreng⁣⁣
6 bh Tomat hijau, belah2⁣⁣
1 btg Serai, memarkan⁣⁣
1 ruas Lengkuas, memarkan⁣⁣
2 lbr Daun salam⁣⁣
4 lbr Daun jeruk⁣⁣
3 sdm Fibercreme⁣⁣
Garam, gula, merica secukupnya⁣⁣
Air secukupnya (-+ 700 ml)⁣⁣
.⁣⁣
Bumbu halus :⁣⁣
7 bh Bawang merah⁣⁣
3 bh Bawang putih⁣⁣
3 bh Cabe merah keriting⁣⁣
2 bh Kemiri⁣⁣
1/2 sdt Ketumbar⁣⁣
2 ruas Kunyit⁣⁣
.⁣⁣
* Tumis bumbu halus bersama lengkuas, serai, daun salam, dan daun jeruk sampai harum. Tuang air dan masak sampai mendidih.⁣⁣
* Beri garam, gula, merica secukupnya. Tambahkan fibercreme, lalu aduk sampai bercampur rata. Masukkan tomat hijau, cabe rawit dan tahu. Masak kembali sebentar. Koreksi rasa.⁣⁣

STRINGENT LAW ENFORCEMENT CRUCIAL TO KEEP FOREST FIRE CASES DOWN by Fardah

Jakarta, 6/3/2021 (ANTARA) - Indonesia, home to the world's third-largest tropical rainforests, has been successful in significantly reducing the number of forest fire cases over the last several years, and steps must be taken to maintain this achievement.

Forest fire incidents in 2020 declined by some 82 percent from that during the previous year, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD stated.

The number of forest and land fires declined drastically over several years. In 2015, forest and land fires had ravaged 2,610 thousand hectares of land, and the figure dropped to 1,592,010 hectares in 2019 and 296,942 hectares in 2020.

"Let us maintain this achievement, as the government remains committed to taking steps to prevent forest and land fires," the minister remarked.

Hence, the government has issued Presidential Instruction Number 3 of 2020 to promote comprehensive efforts to accelerate the prevention of forest and land fires.


In the past, Indonesia was frequently hit by forest fires, whose haze spread to neighboring countries, such as Malaysia and Singapore.

President Joko Widodo has instructed all designated agencies to prioritize prevention and mitigation efforts to prevent the occurrence of such disasters.

"Do not let it bring shame upon us at ASEAN meetings. I order this. We are ashamed, as (they might) think we cannot solve this problem," the president emphasized.

Widodo also spoke of adhering to his policy to replace regional military and police commanders if they fail to prevent or put out forest fires in their regions.

The head of state emphasized that anyone, who sets fire to forests, will face legal repercussions, with strict sanctions slapped by the civil and criminal administration.

The head of state also ordered the law enforcement apparatus to handle forest arsonists without compromise.

DAILY DISASTERS BRING MITIGATION, PREVENTION TO FORE By Fardah

 Jakarta, 6/3/2021 (ANTARA) - The Indonesian people need to find a way to live with natural disasters considering the nations geographic location in the Pacific Ring of Fire, a horseshoe-shaped region of converging tectonic plates and several volcanoes.

The World Bank has named Indonesia, the worlds most populous nation, among 35 countries with the highest risk of disasters in the world.

Therefore, the government must continue to scale up precautionary measures to reduce the impact of any potential disaster.

During the January 1-March 1 period this year, Indonesia recorded 657 natural disasters, which claimed 271 lives, rendered 11 missing, displaced 3,421,871 people, and left 12,131 people injured, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).

This means that about 10.9 natural disasters occurred daily during the period, up from nine per day during 2020.

This year, Indonesia witnessed 304 floods, 141 whirlwinds, 130 landslides, 12 earthquakes, 58 forest fires, 11 high tides or abrasions, and one drought.

The natural disasters caused damage to 854 educational facilities, 650 places of worship, 182 health facilities, 288 offices, and 88 bridges, and 53,287 homes, of which, 4,816 incurred serious damage, 5,765 suffered moderate damage, and 42,705 experienced light damage.

Most of the natural disasters were recorded in West Java (159), followed by Central Java (110), East Java (88), Aceh (52), West Nusa Tenggara (36), Banten (28), Riau (21), South Kalimantan (16), and West Kalimantan (15). Central Kalimantan, West Sumatra, and North Sulawesi reported 14 disasters each.

The major disasters that struck the nation in January, 2021 were landslides in Sumedang, West Java, on January 9, 2021; a 6.2-magnitude earthquake in West Sulawesi on January 15; and, the massive flooding in South Kalimantan, starting January 12.