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Vice President Ma'ruf Amin presiding over the coordination meeting at the West Papua Governor's Office, Manokwari, on Thursday (Oct 14, 2021). ANTARA/HO-Setwapres - 

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin has urged the West Papuan government to resolve extreme poverty in the province's five priority districts by the end of the 2021 budget year.

"We are optimistic that the issue of extreme poverty afflicting the five priority districts would be resolved by the end of 2021. Despite having designated five priority districts, it does not mean that other districts are safe from extreme poverty," Amin stated while presiding over the coordination meeting at the West Papua Governor's Office, Manokwari, on Thursday.

The five districts prioritized for the extreme poverty eradication program are Teluk Wondama, Teluk Bintuni, Tambraw, Maybrat, and South Manokwari , with the number of residents classified to fall in the extreme poverty category totaling 39,357 people from 12,440 households, he noted.

The extreme poverty eradication program in Teluk Wondama District targets 7,960 residents; 13,760 residents in Teluk Bintuni District; 3,140 residents in Tambraw District; 9,520 targeted residents in Maybrat District; and 5,150 residents in South Manokwari District.

To achieve zero cases of extreme poverty in the districts, the central government had allocated extra cash benefits that the regional government should properly utilize to handle cases of extreme poverty, Amin noted.

"This is because we have less than three months for 2022, and the government has decided to allocate additional cash benefits through basic needs and the village's direct cash assistance programs for the priority districts," the vice president stated.

Amin also reiterated the necessity to ensure that all targeted residents would receive the benefits during the meeting.

"We should exert our efforts to synergize and converge existing potentials to achieve our target and ensure the benefits would reach those who needed it most," Amin remarked.

Apart from West Papua's five districts, another 30 districts in West Java, Central Java, East Java, Maluku, East Nusa Tenggara, and Papua will also receive social benefits under this year's extreme poverty alleviation program//ANT