Jakarta. Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf, commonly known as Gus Ipul, has set a target to eliminate extreme poverty in Indonesia within the next two years. Currently, he said, the number of people classified as living in extreme poverty is 2.3 million.

"Extreme poverty, or those classified as extremely poor, amounts to 0.83% or 2.3 million people. We aim to reduce extreme poverty to 0% within the next two years," he said during a working meeting with Commission VIII of the People's Representative Council on Nov. 12, 2024.

According to data from the Central Statistics Agency, the number of people living in poverty in Indonesia has reached 25.22 million, or 9.03% of the total population. The government's target over the next five years is to reduce the poverty rate to below 6%.

"Meanwhile, the number of people living in poverty is expected to be reduced to below 6% within the next five years," he added.

However, there are several challenges that the Ministry of Social Affairs must address in tackling poverty. These include ensuring that social assistance is accurately targeted, improving data accuracy and validity, as well as strengthening collaboration between ministries, agencies, local governments, the private sector, and philanthropic organizations in addressing poverty and social welfare.

"We are integrating joint efforts between ministries, agencies, and local governments, involving the private sector and philanthropic organizations like the National Alms Agency (Baznas), and allocating regional autonomy funds and decentralization funds for local governments," he said.

With collaborative efforts and the right policies, Gus Ipul is optimistic that the target can be achieved, despite the significant challenges ahead.

"Finally, the uncertainty of the future, such as the rising life expectancy, continues to increase the elderly population. Also, there is the phenomenon of the middle-class shrinking, which requires adaptive social protection in response to disasters," he concluded.

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