JAKARTA (ANTARA) – Poverty alleviation management should be regional, therefore, regions’ management tools cannot be the same, said an official of the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture (Kemenko PMK).
„Poverty is a very broad and complex problem. It (tackling poverty) should be regionally based. For example, the poverty conditions in Java Island and outside Java Island are different,” said Andy Megandara, secretary of the ministry. In a statement received here on Tuesday.
According to him, the problem of poverty is multi-dimensional and each region has different characteristics.
However, government policies are often implemented using the same approach in all parts of Indonesia, he noted.
„At the moment, our weakness is using the same tools to eradicate poverty in all regions. In fact, the same amount of aid has different values in Java and Papua,” explained Meghandara.
He then said: Government cannot work alone to eradicate poverty. Universities are among the necessary stakeholders to participate in efforts to eradicate poverty.
Therefore, he explained, collaboration with various stakeholders is needed to gain new perspectives to eliminate extreme poverty in each region.
According to Megandara, universities have the ability to understand regional characteristics with expert views from various scientific fields.
„The government believes that universities in Indonesia can provide a new perspective to overcome poverty,” he said.
Meanwhile, Nunuy Nur Afifah, Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business at Padjadjaran University, said that cooperation and coordination between universities and the government is the right decision to tackle poverty.
„Universities have resources such as education, research and social service that have helped individuals rise out of poverty, created innovations in poverty alleviation and supported communities in need,” he added.
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