Indonesia is looking to emulate China’s community empowerment model to tackle poverty, according to Budiman Sudjatmiko, head of the National Agency for Poverty Alleviation Acceleration, on Friday.
This marks a strategic pivot from its current reliance on social assistance programs.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Budiman highlighted China’s success in reducing poverty through grassroots empowerment and economic development, contrasting it with Brazil’s focus on cash transfer programs.
“Brazil’s poverty alleviation focuses on social protection and cash transfers. China, on the other hand, prioritizes empowerment and people-centered economic growth,” Budiman explained.
“Where have the 800 million poor people in China gone in the last 40 years? They haven’t disappeared; they’ve transformed into designers, assemblers of smartphones, motorcycles, cars, drones, and active participants in cooperatives and village-owned enterprises (BUMDes), whose products now flood the global market,” Budiman wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) account on Tuesday.
His statement underscores how China’s empowerment-driven model of poverty alleviation has not only uplifted individuals but also turned them into contributors to the global economy.
While social assistance programs like direct cash transfers will continue, they will be reserved for the most vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, people with disabilities, and those with severe mental health challenges.
“We aim to shift toward empowerment and development initiatives while maintaining social assistance for those in dire need,” Budiman explained.
A key part of the plan is promoting “graduation” for impoverished individuals, helping them transition to become middle-class entrepreneurs or wage earners.
The government is aligning 154 poverty alleviation programs across 27 ministries, aiming to streamline efforts through a unified database managed by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS). This integrated approach addresses inefficiencies caused by fragmented data and overlapping initiatives.
Budiman pointed to China and Brazil as models of success, crediting their centralized leadership and inter-ministerial synchronization.
“Both nations integrated their data systems and coordinated leadership, even in Brazil’s federal system,” he noted, referencing President Prabowo Subianto’s recent visits to both countries.
According to Statistics Indonesia, in March 2024, there were 25.22 million poor people in Indonesia, around 9% of the whole 281 million population.
