Istana Merdeka, Jakarta, 26-6-2008

Remarks at The Second Meeting of The Sherpa Group of Network Global Leaders

 

REMARKS BY
H.E. DR. SUSILO BAMBANG YUDHOYONO
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA
THE SECOND MEETING OF
THE SHERPA GROUP OF
NETWORK GLOBAL LEADERS
ISTANA MERDEKA, 26 JUNE 2008


<i>Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,</i>
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am honoured and pleased to welcome all of you who are taking part in this very important second meeting of the Sherpa Group of the Network of Global Leaders in Indonesia. In the Indonesian Language, I say: <i>“Selamat datang ke atau di Indonesia, selamat datang di Jakarta.” </i>

I am very much heartened to see that since Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and I agreed to organize the Sherpa Group Network of Global Leaders to launch a global campaign to reach targets of MDGs 4 and 5 during the UN General Assembly Meeting in September 2007, the Sherpa Group has been very active in trying to translate our common vision into practical action. Here, I wish to specially commend Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and our Norwegian friends for their leadership in this process.

It is very encouraging that the Sherpa Group has discussed a number of important issues during its first meeting in Oslo in December 2007, and produced very useful results for our respective Governments. And I am glad you are continuing that discussions here in Jakarta. This is going to be a long process—to realize MDG 4 and 5--but I am sure we will be able to endure it and succeed in the end.

Your meeting in Indonesia is very timely. As you may recall from the 2007 MDGs Report, many countries may not achieve the target for MDG 4 and 5 by 2015. At the current pace, the goals for child mortality are unlikely to be achievable by 2015 and our commitment to maternal health may be worse off for some regions. The price for our slow action will be a burden for the poorest 2 billion amongst us.

This condition is now made worse by the pressing global situation of rising oil and commodity prices. It inevitably translates into further limitations of fiscal policy space and lower consumer purchasing power, which produces a negative multiplier effect for efforts in the area of health, social welfare and combating malnutrition.

Environmental factors are also crucial. The problems of the environment such as climate change and deforestation have a great impact on living conditions, health facilities and water-sanitation facilities.

This year, we have moved half way since the inception of MDGs in 2000 to 2015. But I believe that we need to do more to fight for maternal and child health. We in Indonesia know very well that to attain the MDGs 4 and 5, political will is more essential than national wealth.

Within the last fifteen years, we managed to cut infant mortality rate by 50% from 68 to 34 per 1.000 births. And in the same period, we have also decreased the under-5 mortality rate by 45% from 97 to 44 per 1.000 children.

Our maternal mortality rate has also been reduced from 307 per one hundred thousand births in 2003 to an estimated rate of 226 per one hundred thousand births in 2007. That represents a 26% cut within five years.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Indonesia is a large and vast country with more than 220 million people and 13.000 islands. That is why it is important for us to enhance greater access to health cares by bringing health services closer to the villages with societal participation. The services among others are midwife service providers known as <i>bidan</i> and skilled health providers known as <i>mantra</i> at village levels, coordinated by medical doctors at sub-district levels, and Community Health Centre known as <i>Puskesmas</i> in Indonesia networking.

Indonesia remains on track in reaching the targets of MDG 4 and 5, which is a priority for my Government, but we always try to do better and faster. Like in other developing countries, our efforts to achieve MDG 4 and 5 are part of our long-standing efforts to eradicate poverty, a task that has been made much more difficult by the oil and food crisis that the world is currently facing. We in Indonesia also has had to make the difficult adjustments of fast raising fuel prices. This is indeed a hard time for everybody, for many nations.

To respond to this Ladies and Gentlemen, my Government has promoted 3 clusters of policies for the poor:

<i>One,</i> to provide safety net to some 19,1 million poor families, in the form of direct cash, 15 kg of rice given monthly for a limited time, health insurance for the poor, aid for schools, aid for the poorest of civil servants and teachers and students who need them most. All this is particularly useful as social safety net for the poor during the rise of fuel price.

<i>Secondly</i>, providing special funds for communities at District or Kecamatan level known as PNPM programme which they can use to build infrastructure and other projects. Each district gets about 1,5 to 3 billion Rupiah, and each community is accountable to their own people on how they spend these funds.

And <i>thirdly</i>, micro-credit for the poor, including credit without collateral.

These are all part of our efforts to deal with global shocks as we strive to reach the targets of MDG 4 and 5, and I am sure each of you have your own stories to tell also.

What is important is that we empower communities by providing them with education and training so that their culture and perception will eventually adapt and be more MDGs friendly. By doing this, we can also make communities more potent in implementing monitoring abilities toward MDGs 4 and 5.

Communities must adjust their mindset from just taking a passive stance and expect miraculous solutions from local authorities. All stakeholders must be encouraged to take aggressive ownership on the issue of health.

I also see the important role of the Group in promoting an innovative funding mechanism to attain the MDGs 4 and 5. Several countries in the Group have a substantial amount of external debts and a moderately low economy.

With this consideration in mind, I suggest that the Group in the future should also focus on providing a common platform for its members to get more flexibility in using official development assistance, encourage greater corporate social responsibility in multinational companies, and debt to MDGs’ swap schemes from developed countries, especially G8 countries, through a simpler mechanism but with a larger amount of funding.

In closing, I would like to reverently reiterate everybody that our tasks have not ended here in Jakarta or in the next city to come. Your thoughts and views are truly the engine of this Group. For this purpose, I call on the Group to maintain its active deliberation to explore the best practical recommendations for our respective countries.

Each Sherpa may suggest to their leaders the need for a reinvigorated global movement on the campaign for the welfare of women and children, through MDG 4 and 5.

I wish everybody an even more productive discussions in this Jakarta Meeting.

I thank you.


*****



Bureau for Press and Media Affairs
Presidential Household