Heading to the IDF 2018: Basic Service Improvement the Solution for Regional Discrepancy

A child is showing Kartu Identitas Anak/KIA or Children Identity Card. ANTARA FOTO/Muhammad Iqbal

Accesses towards education, health, housing, drinking water and sanitation are basic needs that influence welfare and life quality for all people of Indonesia. Services for these basic requirements also ensure that Indonesia has healthy, educated workforce to support economic growth and productivity.

In fact, access and basic service quality among regions and people groups hamper Indonesia’s growth. In education sector, unequal teacher distribution and poor education quality in many regions become significant problems. In health sector, there are still many state-owned and private hospitals that haven’t met minimum standards. There remain many low income households that haven’t had proper houses and the absence of drinking water and sanitation in a number of places cause for high infectious diseases and stunting problems.

The problems in fulfilling basic service requirements include less access toward basic service, especially among marginal residents; lack of the quality and quantity of human resources; unequal tool and facility distribution; lack of new, innovative approach in service execution; and poor trans-sector coordination.

Responding the problems, hundreds of academicians and observers on prosperity issues submit ideas and thoughts to repair basic services. One of them is Erfan Agus Munif who is among tutors studying at the Education and Culture Agency of East Java Province.

Erfan states his ideas as written in his paper titled “Village-Based Education Equality Movement (Getar Desa), Innovation to Accelerate Education Development Discrepancy Reduction in Bondowoso Regency”. The movement is a strategic and integrated one that involves the roles from the government, private sector and parents to accelerate the rise of School Period Mean via equal education, school participation number, and vocation to add income of the public who study.

Prior to the program, Bondowoso is still recorded as one the underdeveloped regions. The regency’s Human Development Index is only 64.52 with the School Period Mean of 5.57 years, Life Expectancy number is 65.89 years and poverty level stands at 14% (Central Statistic Agency: 2016). After the program runs for one year, the number of residents under 21 years old taking part in equal education significantly rises, the amount of dropped out students returning to the schools improves, productive enterprises groups arises and local problem solving model based on comprehensive and synergized approach involving many parties emerges.

Another solution is presented by the student of the International Relation of the Gadjah Mada University, Taradhinta Suryandari, through her paper “Clean Water Access Fulfillment Discrepancy in Malang and Pandeglang Regencies: A Discourse Analysis”. Taradhinta analyses clean water fulfillment in equality in the two regencies through discourse analysis. Discourse is a braid of ideas, practices and actions that impact society at large and is considered valid.

According to her analysis, clean water access imbalance occurs because of discourse conflict among stakeholders in Malang, East Java, and Pandeglang in Banten, on basic pre requirements toward clean water access. This discourse rivalry creates political limit related to “who deserves to get clean water access”. As a result, the poor, who don’t have capacities but need more water access, can’t instead get it.

In different lights with Erfan and Taradhita who make use of good practices in regions as solutions, researcher from World Bank, Wisnu Harto Adiwijoyo, initiates his research from a question: “Does technology exacerbate education inequality in Indonesia?” He then sees West Indonesia obtains 85% access toward Information Technology and Communication, while East Indonesia receives only about 15%.

After a further examination, Wisnu finds that access toward information and communication technology at schools can reduce education inequality in Indonesia. Households that are flowed with electricity, computer ownership and affordable transportation cost can also help solving discrepancy in Indonesia. As such, Wisnu suggests the government prioritizing improved access toward information and communication technology at schools.

The above solutions that are related to basic service fixing will be presented in the peak of Indonesia Development Forum 2018 in 10-11 July 2018. The forum that is initiated by the National Development and Planning Agency or Bappenas and the Australian Government through Knowledge Initiative Sector carries a big theme “Pathways to Tackle Regional Disparities across the Archipelago”.

IDF 2018 pushes accelerated development in Indonesia to be more equal and more sustainable based on knowledge, experience and fact. The result of the forum will be used to formulate Medium Term Development Plan 2020-2024.

In addition to the papers briefly reviewed above, there are still many ideas and thoughts regarding basic access improvement as a solution to solve regional discrepancy. The papers will also be discussed in the Indonesia Development Forum 2018.

Project Manager from Wahana Visi Indonesia Andreas Sitohang will present his paper titled “Citizen Voice and Action: Improving Basic Services through Social Accountability Approach”. The research talks about the use of social accountability as an approach to add basic service. Social accountability is a responsibility that depends on public involvement through various actions and strategies outside voting method.

Another title to be delivered at IDF 2018 such as the one belonging to the planner at Bappenas, Nur Aisyah Nasution, titled “Analysis of Proper Drinking Water and Sanitation Access Achievement Progress: Trans-Province and Between Urban and Rural Areas”; Coordinator of Center for Indonesia’s Strategic Development Initiatives, Mochammad Fadjar Wibowo, who writes “Social Media Optimization to Improve Rural Health Workers Recruitment Process in Indonesia”; Monitoring and Evaluation Division of INOVASI, Senza Arsendy, who studies “The Role of Public Policy and Economic Inequality on Intergenerational Mobility Trends in Indonesia”.

Interesting explanation will be said by Chief Strategy Officer of Solo Green City, Sessario Bayu Mangkara, through his paper “Potentials of Economy Value Addition and Online Application-Based Waste Management”; monitoring evaluation division Simavi Indonesia, Yusridar Mustafa, who writes “Interest-Based Sanitation Entrepreneurship in Fulfilling  Need and Creating Sustainable Sanitation Access for People in Rural Areas in West Manggarai Regency”.**