Our Work

Context

Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world, with a population of more than 270 million across 17,000 islands. With an economy over one trillion dollars, Indonesia is also a member of the G20 and currently the chair of ASEAN. Indonesia’s size, young population, and strategic location make it an important economic, trade and security partner.

For decades, USAID has partnered with Indonesia to develop Indonesia’s infrastructure, health systems, and economy. With an annual program budget of about $100 million, we carry out programs in democratic governance, anti-corruption, climate and the environment, economic growth, education, and health. We also respond to public health and humanitarian crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Our main partners include the national and local governments, local leaders, the private sector, civil society, and other donors.

Our Work

Through results-driven investment, USAID works with the Government of Indonesia, local leaders, the private sector, civil society, and other development partners to strengthen a just and accountable democracy, expand basic services, and enhance mutual security and prosperity. 

Democratic Resilience and Governance

USAID partners with the Government of Indonesia to prevent corruption by enhancing prevention mechanisms and policies, increasing public oversight through awareness campaigns and education, and encouraging civic participation—including from civil society organizations—in demanding improved accountability in public service delivery at the national and subnational level. We also work with companies and businesses to strengthen integrity in procurement and licensing and partners with the Indonesian government to enhance transparency and monitor government spending. 

Economic Growth and Education

USAID works with Indonesian scholarship providers to send more Indonesian students to U.S. universities and develop more U.S.-Indonesian university partnerships to advance STEM education. We also partner with companies and businesses to improve business skills for Indonesian small- and medium enterprises to keep up with the ever-expanding digital environment, increase access for these SMEs, particularly those owned by women and marginalized communities, and provide financing opportunities such as loans and start-up capital from banks and impact investment companies. 

Health

USAID partners with Indonesia to reduce preventable deaths in mothers and newborns. We also provide training to provincial and local governments, civil society, and private health providers to improve health policies and service delivery. To better prepare Indonesia for facing the next pandemic, we work with the government and partners to prevent and control epidemics like tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS and contain emerging pandemic threats. We are also beginning a new program this year to help Indonesia meet its goal to reduce the rate of childhood stunting, which is caused by poor nutrition during pregnancy and in the first two years after birth.

Environment

USAID assists Indonesia with sustainable natural resource management and works with businesses, farmers, and fishers to adopt sustainable practices, ensuring availability of resources for generations to come. USAID also supports Indonesia’s commitment to accelerate transition from coal power to renewable energy under the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). We are working with the Government of Indonesia to assist quickly-growing secondary cities, which are vulnerable to climate-related disasters, to provide reliable services such as water, sanitation, and solid waste management. To support communities impacted by the climate-related water shortages, we are supporting the development and roll-out of management information systems for water safety planning at the sub-national level and contributed to the construction of infiltration ponds—which collect rainwater, so that it can seep into the aquifer—in 14 of cities and districts to restore groundwater resources. We are also currently testing solutions to build a coordinated solid waste system with subnational level governments in Indonesia.