The Indonesia government needs to expand its definition of vulnerable groups during the coronavirus pandemic to be able to help more people in need, Santi Kusumaningrum, the director of the University of Indonesia’s Child Protection and Wellbeing Center, or Puskapa, said on Tuesday, reported The Jakarta Globe.
“The government has been helping the poor and the sick. But during the pandemic, more people are vulnerable in many different ways. We need a broader definition of ‘vulnerable group,'” Santi said.
She said people who were previously not included in the vulnerable group category could quickly slide into it during a pandemic like Covid-19.
Those who were already vulnerable could be suffering even more.
Puskapa has been encouraging the government to also help children, people with disabilities and the elderly – all of whom are not yet part of vulnerable groups according to the government.
According to Puskapa’s data, a total of 208 policies have been issued by ministries and state agencies and 288 by regional governments to handle the Covid-19 pandemic by May 11.
“The pandemic has brought out new social and economic problems. The government needs to broaden their definition of vulnerability and issue more inclusive policies,” Santi said.
Puskapa had studied vulnerable groups in 15 areas most affected by the pandemic: Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java, South Sulawesi, Banten, West Nusa Tenggara, Bali, West Sumatra, North Sumatra, Papua, South Kalimantan, East Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan.
“In these areas, there are 7.2 million households with toddlers, 6 million with elderly family members and 8 million with family members who are disabled,” Santi said.
The vulnerable group category should also include children who don’t live with their families – aka children in prisons, orphanages and boarding schools – and people receiving social assistance, refugees, homeless people and socially excluded people.
