COVID-19 Mitigation and Humanitarian and Social Protection in Indonesia

Context

This grant supports activities focused on COVID-19 mitigation, combating pediatric tuberculosis (TB), and countering gender based violence (GBV).

Fighting Pediatric TB

In 2019, the Indonesian National TB program (NTP) reported 29,153 cases of TB in children aged 0-14 years. However, an estimated 35 percent of TB cases in children aged 0-14 years were unreported to the NTP. USAID granted funding to UNICEF to generate evidence, develop policy, and strengthen the management of childhood TB cases at the national level, as well as among vulnerable groups at sites in high TB burden areas such as Aceh, East Java, East Nusa Tenggara, Papua, West Papua, and South Sulawesi provinces. The interventions enable innovative health systems approaches and capacity building for partners to reduce preventable child deaths, and will support the Government of Indonesia to reach its End TB 2030 targets. The goals of this support are to improve the management of pediatric TB in detection, prevention, and care through integrated child health services, and to improve understanding of pediatric TB to optimize program implementation and impact.

Preventing Gender Based Violence

Millions of women and children in Indonesia are vulnerable to violence and exploitation, including child marriage. Often viewed as a private matter, much of this violence and exploitation remains hidden. A 2021 survey conducted by the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection indicated that one in four Indonesian women had experienced violence. The same survey also revealed that 34 percent of boys and 41 percent of girls aged 13-17 years had experienced one or more types of violence in their lifetime. An estimated 1,220,900 Indonesian girls are married each year before they reach 18, leading to an abrupt end of their childhood.

USAID’s support to UNICEF to prevent and respond to GBV is focused on: strengthening
evidence-based strategies to promote social behavior change, including child marriage; promoting life skills education for children and empowering women to protect themselves, and to seek recourse if their rights have been violated; and strengthening integrated referral systems for survivors of GBV and violence, abuse and exploitation against children, including child marriage. The support concluded in September 2023.

COVID-19

USAID also funded UNICEF’s work to promote risk prevention and vaccine delivery. See our COVID-19 Factsheet for details of this activity.

Results

To date, USAID’s grant to UNICEF has resulted in:

Development of district action plans for child marriage prevention in Bondowoso, Lumajang, and Trenggalek districts and Malang city, as well as development and implementation of work to strengthen local regulations and strategies to prevent GBV, including child marriage;
Establishment of an inter-sectoral taskforce and cooperation agreement among relevant sectors, service providers, and civil society organizations in Aceh to strengthen prevention and response to child protection issues, including prevention of child marriage;
Implementation of UNICEF’s good parenting initiatives in Central and East Java, Aceh, and South Sulawesi provinces. These initiatives have reached at least 28,359 parents and caregivers, including parents of children with disabilities;
Initiation and strengthening of regulations to establish a women and child protection unit with standardized operational procedures and basic requirements of case management in Aceh, Central Java, and East Java provinces—this resulted in six districts adopting the national standard operating procedures known as SOP CEKATAN that will enable victims of violence to be served quickly and comprehensively;
Development and dissemination of the national Pediatric Guideline from the National TB Program to Provincial and District Health Offices across Indonesia;
Screening of 20,916 pediatric TB cases in Aceh, resulting in 237 cases identified and referred to health facilities for TB tests; and
Strengthening the capacity of primary health care facilities to screen for TB among children and exploring integration of TB screening with other health programs.