VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

2022 G20 Joint Finance and Health Task Force meeting in Jakarta on January 26, 2022. (ANTARA/HO-Finance Ministry/uyu) -

The finance and health ministries of G20 members strengthened cross-sectoral collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Bank during the G20 Joint Finance and Health Task Force (JFHTF) meeting.

The meeting was held virtually on January 26, 2022, with Indonesia and Italy as co-chairs of the meeting.

"Indonesia and Italy are committed to ensuring that the JFHTF programs are a success," JFHTF Co-chair from Indonesia Wempi Saputra remarked in an official statement here on Thursday.

Saputra opened the meeting by highlighting the progress achieved in various JFHTF programs discussed by G20 members, including improving coordination between finance and health sector players as well as establishing the JFHTH secretariat and global health financing facilities.

At the meeting, the intergovernmental forum members also pushed for strengthening the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator partnership that encompassed global disbursement of COVID-19 vaccines, test kits, medications, and personal protective equipment (PPE).

The G20 expects the global vaccination target to reach 70 percent by mid-2022. 

Hence, the forum encourages collaboration between government and non-governmental institutions at the global and regional levels in overcoming international financial and trade barriers as well as in ensuring the availability of assistance for vulnerable people.

"The G20 members highlighted the important role of a secretariat in supporting health and financial coordination to prevent, prepare, and respond (PPR) to the COVID-19 pandemic and other health crisis," the JFHTF co-chair continued.

Furthermore, regarding the establishment of financing facilities, the members assessed the importance of mobilizing global financing to support the PPR attempts in accordance with the international health regulations.

Moreover, the JFHTF meeting took into account the results of strategic studies and assessments on various cooperation options between the health and finance sector players.

The results of the meeting will be submitted at the Meeting of Ministers of Finance and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) on February 17-18, 2022, in Jakarta.

Meanwhile, Expert Staff of the Indonesian Health Minister for Governance Issues Ronaldus Mujur -- who also acts as co-chair of the JFHTF -- expects that the task force’s work would turn out to be concrete outputs of Indonesia’s G20 Presidency.

"The meeting shows that the G20 members cooperate closely to strive in giving a fruitful legacy for the global community," he remarked//ANT

The meeting to discuss preparations for holding the G20 Summit in Belitung, Bangka Belitung Islands. (ANTARA/Kasmono/KT) - 

The Belitung District Government, Bangka Belitung Islands, will improve infrastructure and beautify the district to hold the G20 Development Ministerial session on September 7-9, 2022.

"We will display Belitung's characteristics, including the elements of local creativity and culture," Vice District Head of Belitung Isyak Meirobie stated in Tanjung Pandan on Thursday.

He affirmed that the plan to enhance the district infrastructure after leading the meeting on infrastructure preparation and beautification of Belitung will facilitate one of the G20 events in Bangka Belitung Islands.

According to Meirobie, Belitung will showcase the region's myriad assets to the G20 delegates, such as the preserved mangrove forests and the natural sea and skies.

"People will never know about the beauty of Belitung if it is not displayed. Hence, this presentation must be coordinated with the requisite development of infrastructure," Meirobie added.

Some efforts to increase the aesthetic appeal of the city comprise designing the Satam Monument area located in Tanjung Pandan, or the so-called zero kilometer point.

"At the Satam Monument roundabouts, we will build G20 in giant lettering and the flags of the countries participating in the G20, including a fountain whose colors match the G20 theme," he highlighted.

In addition, the local government will ensure the roads that the delegates will pass through to the main venue are in good condition, Meirobie explained.

"Paving, coating, and restoration of pedestrian sidewalks will be conducted," he stated.

He expressed hope that implementation of the G20 Development Ministerial meeting in the area would have a positive impact on Belitung in the eyes of the international community.

"The G20 is a very valuable opportunity to promote Belitung," Meirobie added.

Belitung is one of the destinations of the G20 side events, according to Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi.

The side events in several regions in Indonesia are expected to drive the people's economy and expedite national economic recovery, Lutfi noted//ANT

Hydrometeorological hazard - 

With about 17 thousand islands scattered across the Indian-Pacific Ocean, the world’s largest archipelagic country, Indonesia, is like a “supermarket for natural disasters.”

The country has four disaster clusters: geology and volcanology (volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis), hydro-meteorology I (forest fires and drought), hydro-meteorology II (flash floods, landslides, and coastal abrasion), and non-natural disasters (waste, epidemics, and technological failures).

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has reported that 2,931 disasters displaced 8.26 million people in Indonesia between January 1 and December 19, 2021.

Last year’s disasters claimed 654 lives, rendered 93 people missing, and left 14,105 others injured.

The disasters comprised 1,236 floods, 746 extreme weather incidents, 595 landslides, and 265 forest and plantation fires.

During the first week of January 2022, the agency recorded 68 natural disasters comprising 38 floods, 16 extreme weather events, 12 landslides, 1 forest fire, and 1 tidal wave.

The disasters left 7 people dead, 15 people injured, and 140,620 others affected and displaced.

Head of the BNPB, Lt. Gen. Suharyanto, has appealed to all parties to increase resilience in dealing with natural and non-natural disasters.

Located in the world's volcanic belt, flanked by two oceanic and continental plates, Indonesia's volcanic tectonic and hydro-meteorological activity is the highest in the world, he said.

The country, which only experiences dry and rainy seasons, entered the rainy season in September 2021, which is expected to peak in January and February 2022, a circumstance that usually triggers flooding in several regions.

Since late last year, floods have been reported in several areas in the provinces of West Java, East Java, Central Java, Jakarta, Aceh, Papua, South Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, West Kalimantan and East Kalimantan, and West Sumatra, among others.

Flooding in Jember district, East Java province, on January 9, 2022, claimed two lives and rendered one resident missing.

BNPB spokesperson Abdul Muhari informed in a press statement that the floods submerged the villages of Kaliwates, Sempusari, and Mangli in Kaliwates sub-district; Rambi Puji and Ramigundam villages in Rambi Puji sub-district; and Kemiri and Suci villages in Panti sub-district, Jember district.

The flash floods swamped 440 houses, 3 places of worship, and 2 shops, and affected 440 families comprising 1,668 people, he said. However, the disaster did not trigger evacuations, he added.

Furthermore, the Indonesian people have been urged to remain alert for hydro-meteorological disasters in 2022.

"While the rainfall is estimated to be lighter as compared to 2021, the government and people should still be wary of potential hydro-meteorological disasters," head of the Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG), Dwikorita Karnawati, said.

Rainfall above the normal rate has been forecast in several regions across the country this year, she noted.

Above normal rains are projected in January in regions such as Central and North Sumatra, East and North Kalimantan, West Java, half of Sulawesi, East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, and Papua, she informed.

This weather forecast is also for half of Sumatra, half of Java, East Kalimantan, North Maluku, and Papua for the month of February, she said.

North Sumatra, Java, North Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku, North Maluku, and half of Papua are expected to experience above-normal rainfall in March, she added.

"The negative and positive effects caused by the climate should still be mapped out. Above-average rainfall could be utilized to ensure meeting the needs for water resources, farming, and the forestry sector," Karnawati advised.

To address these negative impacts, the regional governments and the public should be wary, adopt precautionary measures, and conduct mitigation to avoid and reduce the risk of hydro-meteorological disasters, she added.

Considering the country’s vulnerability, Dr. Indra Permanajati, an academic from Jenderal Sudirman University (Unsoed), has asked local governments to intensify mitigation programs through the establishment of disaster-resilient villages.

"In 2022, the establishment of disaster-resilient villages must be a priority program of the regional governments through disaster management agencies in each region," he remarked on January 17, 2022.

Permanajati, who is also the coordinator for the Geological Disaster Mitigation Center of Unsoed, said the establishment of disaster-resilient villages should be prioritized in disaster-prone areas.

"Because the disaster-resilient village program will increase the community's capacity for dealing with disasters. This capacity-building will assist efforts to reduce disaster risk," he explained.

The mitigation or disaster risk reduction program will require the active role of the community to run well, he added.

"Human resources, as part of disaster management, have a very significant role because strong human resources will support mitigation efforts, especially in disasters caused by humans. For example, flooding that is caused by the stagnant flow of rivers due to piles of garbage," he explained.

Besides, people still need to be provided an understanding of how they can protect themselves from disasters, he added.

"Hence, the disaster-resilient village program must become a mandatory program that must continue to be developed. The concept of disaster management now must start from a strong local community," he said.

Yanto, Ph.D, hydrology and water resources expert from Jenderal Soedirman University, advised that the Indonesian government should continue to make flood mitigation a priority program in 2022.

In 2021, the number of natural disasters, such as floods, was still relatively high in the country, he noted here on Friday.

According to the expert, most of the 3,078 disasters recorded by BNPB in 2021 were caused by rain.

"Of the total figure, 89 percent were caused by fluctuations in rainfall, either in the form of floods, extreme weather, landslides, or droughts. Floods continued to dominate the number of disasters in Indonesia, with 42 percent of all recorded disasters," he remarked.

To this end, Yanto opined that programs that strengthen flood mitigation efforts should be prioritized in 2022.

He also highlighted the importance of creating maps of flood-prone areas in an effort to strengthen mitigation capacity.

"With the existence of flood-prone maps, the location services on people's smartphones can be used to convey information directly when there are people who enter flood-prone areas," he remarked//ANT

Minister of Home Affairs, Muhammad Tito Karnavian, reviews a public service mall in Mangupura, Badung district, Bali. (ANTARA/HO-Kemendagri) - 

Minister of Home Affairs, Muhammad Tito Karnavian, has urged all regions in the country to set up public service malls to improve the quality of public services offered to the people.

In a statement received here on Thursday, he said that public service malls are proof of the state's commitment to providing accessible and transparent services.

"There are several provinces that have no public service malls. We are currently pushing this," he said after reviewing a public service mall in Mangupura, Badung district, Bali.

The establishment of public service malls is in accordance with the direction of President Joko Widodo and Vice President Ma'ruf Amin, who want the public to get the best services from the government, he explained.

"This is a direction and instruction from the President and the Vice President (to us) to make public service malls operate well in Indonesia," the minister said.

According to Karnavian, through the one-stop public service malls, it is hoped that all public services can be provided in one place.

The public service malls are expected to be part of the public service reform for providing easy and uncomplicated services to the community, he said. That way, people will be able to access the services provided by the government quickly, easily, more securely, and more conveniently, he expounded.

Public service malls that are based on the principles of integration, efficiency, accountability, accessibility, and convenience can support the affairs of the community, he affirmed//ANT