VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Executive Secretary of the National Team for the Acceleration of Poverty Reduction (TNP2K) Bambang Widianto, Wednesday (14/10/2020), in a virtual seminar, said that the COVID-19 pandemic impacted Indonesia's efforts to tackle stunting.

"The problem of stunting is directly proportional to the need for food security and nutrition. These two things have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic," he said.

Therefore, he said that to ensure food and nutrition security continues amid the pandemic, the central government invites all parties, including regional governments, to develop types of local food.

"Due to the complexity of food insecurity and nutrition, a concerted effort across the government is needed to tackle it. This needs an active role on the behalf of the local government to enhance local food," Bambang continued.

This suggests that local government could play a larger role in complementing the central government stunting reduction effort by focusing on nutrition-specific intervention and accommodating local problems.

"Enhancing food security and nutritions calls for cooperation between many stakeholders. It requires not just coordinated effort across ministries but also beyond as local government should also take an active role in stunting elevation,".

Furthermore, Bambang Widianto said that the COVID-19 pandemic also impacted the national economy. This has resulted in a decrease in people's income and weakening purchasing power.

Even so, the government has taken steps to deal with it, one of which is through the provision of several social assistance programs to affected communities.

"The provision of social assistance must also be in line with increasing public awareness of nutrition and good nutrition practices," said Bambang.

Data from the Central Bureau of Statistics show that in the first quarter of 2020, the poverty rate in Indonesia increased because of the COVID-19 pandemic, from 9.22 percent in September 2019 to 9.78 percent in March 2020.

BPS also noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the number of poor people in Indonesia to over 2 million people. (VOI)

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati emphasized that the education sector is the most powerful tool or weapon to transform Indonesia into a more developed, just, and prosperous country.

"Use the knowledge given to change the world, turn Indonesia into a developed, just, prosperous country and have high dignity and civilization," she said in a virtual STAN PKN Graduation Ceremony in Jakarta, Wednesday.

Sri Mulyani stated that a world figure from South Africa, Nelson Mandela, said that education is the most powerful weapon and is very capable of changing the world.

"One of the world figures from South Africa who is the Father of Reconciliation, Nelson Mandela, said that education is the most powerful weapon which can be used to change the world," she said.

Sri Mulyani told 3,231 graduates and PKN STAN graduates, that they were the chosen people who had successfully experienced higher education in Indonesia. This happened because according to her, only nine percent of children in Indonesia can attend university.

"Only nine percent of Indonesians are capable and have the luck to continue their education to the tertiary level. So, you are the elite nine percent," she said.

Therefore, she emphasized that the entire community, including STAN PKN graduates, had the opportunity to feel that universities have an enormous responsibility, namely to change Indonesia for the better.

"This means that you will be required to continue to build and improve our country and nation," she said.

She also advised that the STAN PKN graduates and other students could use their knowledge in order to build Indonesia to be advanced, just, prosperous, and have high dignity and civilization.

The government has allocated 20 percent of the total State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN) per year to support the education sector so it can produce agents of change.

"You are given the tools in the form of the best education in the Republic of Indonesia, and even when you study, it is paid by state money. Now you will be required to become agents of change," she said. (Antaranews)

The Task Force for Handling COVID-19 stated that the percentage of active COVID-19 cases at the national level continued to decline until it reached 19.17 percent as of October 14, 2020.

"We can see that the cumulative cases have continued to decline in proportion," said the Head of Data and Information Technology for the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, Dr. Dewi Nur Aisyah in a press conference at Graha BNPB, Jakarta, Wednesday.

She said that the active cases were not calculated from the total cumulative number of COVID-19 cases available, but were obtained from the percentage of people who were sick, divided by the number of infected people.

Based on these proportions, the trend of active COVID-19 cases in Indonesia has continued to decline from March to October 2020.

"So since the beginning of the COVID-19 case was found in Indonesia in early March 2020 until now October 14, we can see that the graph has decreased," she said.

She reminds that the percentage of active COVID-19 cases was very dynamic. The percentage of active cases can continue to decline if there is a decrease in cases, but this percentage can also increase when there is a surge in cases.

"We can see, for example, at the end of July he had a chance to go down, then at the beginning, he went up a little bit again. In early September we experienced a notable increase in cases. When at the end of August it had reached a low point, but then it rises again in early September," she said, giving an example.

He hopes that the percentage of active cases will continue to decline, with more cases recovered than dead cases, so that there are fewer active cases.

"It means that if he goes down, all active cases have results, whether healed or if not, died. What we hope is certainly a cure," said Dewi Nur Aisyah. (Antaranews)

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Ryabkov, rejected Washington's proposal to freeze Russia's and US nuclear arsenal at current levels in exchange for an extension of the Russia-US New START agreement on further reduction of strategic offensive weapons.

"This is an unacceptable proposal," the diplomat said, as quoted by TASS, Wednesday (14/10/2020), while commenting on the initiative, which was previously voiced yesterday by the US President's Special Envoy for Arms Control Marshall Billingslea.

Speaking at a videoconference, hosted by the Heritage Foundation on Tuesday (13/10/2020), Billingslea said his country is ready to extend New START if the two countries agree to limit or freeze their nuclear arsenal.

"We are actually willing to extend the New START Agreement for some time, on condition that they, in return, agree to a limitation or freezing of their nuclear arsenal. We are willing to do the same," he said. "We have proposed a compromise: agree with us to freeze, and we will extend New START for some period,".

"We are ready to reach this agreement, in fact, we can achieve it tomorrow, but Moscow has to show the political will to do it too," added Billingslea.

The Treaty between the United States and the Russian Federation on Measures for the Reduction and Restriction of Further Strategic Offensive Weapons (New START Agreement) entered force on 5 February 2011.

The document stipulates that seven years after entry into force each party must have no more than 700 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) deployed, submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) and strategic bombers, and no more than 1,550 warheads on the ICBM deployed, SLBMs deployed, and strategic bombers and 800 deployed and non-deployed ICBM launchers, SLBM launchers, and strategic bombers.

The New START Agreement will remain in effect for 10 years, until 2021, unless before that date is replaced by a subsequent agreement on the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive weapons. It can also be extended for no more than 5 years (i.e. until 2026) by mutual agreement of the parties.

Moscow has repeatedly asked Washington not to delay the extension of the treaty it describes as the gold standard in disarmament.

In an interview with the Financial Times in late June 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that once this agreement ceases to exist, "there will be no instruments in the world to limit the arms race.". (RRI)