VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has called on startups to help micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to enable more of them to be connected to digital economy platforms.

While delivering his remarks at the SOEs Startup Day held at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition (ICE) BSD City, Tangerang, Banten, on Monday, the president highlighted the presence of around 65.4 million MSMEs in Indonesia, though pointing out that only 19 million of them had entered digital platforms.

The head of state believes that in line with the efforts to enter digital economy platforms, several problems, such as packaging, production quality, and production capacity, should be handled by MSME actors.

Nevertheless, efforts to connect MSMEs to digital platforms should continue to be pushed and used as an opportunity by startups.

He noted that the same also applied to the health sector that can become an opportunity for startups.

"We are a country with 17 thousand islands, 514 districts and cities, and 34 provinces. What can we do for our health (sector) to take a leap?" he remarked at the event that was also aired live on the official YouTube channel of the Presidential Secretariat.

"Telemedicine can be connected, long-distance surgeries can be connected with platforms, with applications," he added.

President Jokowi stressed that foresight to see market needs must be the main aspect for startup business actors before building a startup.

This especially holds significance as it is a factor that dominates 42 percent of failures among startups that are still in the early stage.

On the same occasion, State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir reported that the SOEs Startup Day is held by involving 150 exhibitors, 250 startups in the 12 clusters of SOEs, 22 SOEs that aim to see the potential for business matching, five venture capital partners, and at least five thousand invited visitors.

"There are five business (activities) during the SOEs Startup Day, namely business matching, investor pitching, startup rapid mentoring, conference, and of course, exhibition," Thohir stated. (antaranews)

The commemoration of World Contraception Day is the right momentum to strengthen education for society about the importance of the family planning (KB) program, the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) reminded.

"The World Contraception Day, which is commemorated every September 26, needs to be used to intensify the education of the family planning program," BRIN's Public Health Researcher Masdalina Pane said here on Sunday.

According to Pane, family planning education for society, which campaigns for the importance of using contraceptives, has been carried out well by the government.

However, she said, the efforts need to be strengthened to support population control programs and intervals between pregnancies.

Pane, who is also the Professional Development Head of the Indonesian Epidemiology Association (PAEI), added that efforts to strengthen the family planning program education are expected to support the decline of the total fertility rate in Indonesia.

Based on the 2021 family data record, Indonesia's total fertility rate fell to 2.24, from 2.4 in 2017.

"Population control through the family planning program is very successful. However, the COVID-19 pandemic may have affected the total birth rate and access to birth control, considering that there are many health facilities that have limited (patients') visits," she explained.

Thus, she stated, public awareness of birth control needs to be enhanced through family planning program education.

"Education to the society is expected to target younger groups or those who get married early," she said.

Based on data from the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN), the ratio of people who marry under 18 years old is 20 out of one thousand marriages.

Moreover, she added that birth control programs and contraceptives can support maternal health, and mothers' reproduction health.

"Because giving birth and nursing many children in short intervals can cause fatigue, thus declining life quality," she said. (Antaranews)

Indonesia has explored efforts to strengthen cooperation with Russia in fishery product trade in an effort to increase its seafood export to Russia.

"Indonesia has superior fishery commodities such as shrimp and seaweed, that can meet the needs of the Russian fishery market," Secretary General of the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) Ministry Antam Novambar said.

Novambar made the statement  after holding a bilateral meeting with Head of the Russian Federal Agency for Fisheries Ilya Shestakov on the sidelines of the Fifth Global Fishery Forum & Seafood Expo in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Antam Novambar in a press release here on Sunday said that during the bilateral meeting, he asked for an agreement to strengthen trade cooperation in fishery products between the two countries; He hoped that the agreement could be signed on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali in November 2022.

During the meeting, Shestakov told the Indonesian official that Russia has satellite technology for monitoring fishing vessels.

"We can explore further cooperation regarding technology transfer for the development of surveillance satellites because it is very much needed in implementing a quota-based quantified fishing policy," Novambar said.

Meanwhile, the ministry's acting Director General of Strengthening the Competitiveness of Marine and Fishery Products Ishartini, who also joined the working visit to Russia, said that in recent years, Russia has become one of the potential markets for Indonesian fishery product exports.

On the occasion, the KKP ministry's delegation paid a visit to a Russian fish processing unit that produces processed fish and seaweed.

"We will facilitate the exploration of export opportunities for Indonesian fishery products needed by the Russian fishing industry," Ishartini added.

Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Sakti Wahyu Trenggono earlier instructed his staff to continue to improve the export performance of fishery products. (Antaranews)

 A United Nations committee found on Friday that Australia had violated the human rights of a group of islanders off its north coast by failing to adequately protect them from the impacts of climate change, such as by cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

The complaint, filed over three years ago by eight Torres Strait Islanders and their children, is one of a growing body of climate cases being brought around the world on human rights grounds, and the ruling is expected to embolden others.

Rising sea levels have already damaged food sources and ancestral burial sites, scattering human remains, the islanders argued, saying their homes are at risk of being submerged.

"I know that our ancestors are rejoicing knowing that Torres Strait Islander voices are being heard throughout the world through this landmark case," said Yessie Mosby, a Kulkalgal man and Traditional Owner on the island of Masig who is a claimant in the case. "This win gives us hope that we can protect our island homes, culture and traditions for our kids and future generations to come," he said.

Environmental charity ClientEarth working with the claimants said it was the first legal action brought by climate-vulnerable inhabitants of small islands against a nation state, setting several precedents.

The Committee said Australia had violated two of the three human rights set out in a U.N. Treaty, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), pertaining to culture and family life, but not article 6 on the right to life.

It called for Australia to provide the islanders with an effective remedy.

Australia's Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said in emailed comments to Reuters that the government was working with the islanders on climate change and stressed that the case predated the current administration.

"The Australian Government is considering the Committee's views and will provide its response in due course," he added.

Torres Strait Islanders are part of Australia's indigenous population, along with Aboriginal people, who live on small clusters of low-lying islands dotted between Australia and Papua New Guinea.

The case was filed when the former conservative government, seen as a laggard in the battle against climate change, was in power. Since then, parliament has passed legislation on emissions cuts and Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has visited the islands this year.

Some 173 of the 193 U.N. Member States have ratified the Covenant, including Australia. There is no enforcement mechanism but there are follow-up steps, and states generally comply with the committee's findings. (Reuters)