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Indonesia

SNAPSHOT
Date of independence: 1945
Capital: Jakarta
Population: 223 million (2006)
Annual income per person: $1420

USAID IN INDONESIA
indonesia.usaid.gov

CONTACTS
Mission Director
Walter North
American Embassy Jakarta
Unit 8135 USAID
FPO AP 96520-8135
Tel: (011-62-21) 3435-9300

Stephan Solat
Indonesia Desk Officer
Tel: (202) 712-1002
Email: ssolat@usaid.gov

Coffee farmers in Central Aceh earn premiums for the sale of certified organic beans through a USAID economic development activity. (Photo: USAID/Indonesia)

Overview

As the world’s fourth most populous country, with abundant natural resources and a diversity of cultures and traditions, Indonesia’s future is bright. USAID assistance focuses on support for democratic governance, better education, improved health care, environmental preservation, economic growth, tsunami reconstruction, and disaster relief. The Government of Indonesia is a valued partner in development, working hard to provide a better future for its people.

Programs

Investing In People: Education
The President’s Education Initiative is helping Indonesia transform the classroom experience into one of energy and inquiry. Assistance to school districts, communities, and local governments directly improves the quality of teaching and learning. To date, USAID has reached over 344,000 students and almost 24,000 administrators and teachers. More than 230,000 primary school students have been educated through the Initiative, and some 114,000 junior secondary school students and out-of-school youth are learning employment-related life skills while working toward school completion or its equivalency. Since the Initiative’s inception, more than 1,100 schools—secular and religious, public and private—have eagerly participated. Through national replication of the Initiative’s key innovations, at least 400,000 students are expected to directly benefit from USAID programs, along with some 1,500 schools.

Governing Justly and Democratically
Indonesia’s vibrant democracy is now a decade old. USAID programs have enabled the passage of anti-trafficking-in-persons legislation, moving Indonesia closer to meeting international human rights standards. USAID initiatives also enhance the capacities of local governments, civil society, and the media in the areas of integrated planning, budgeting, and participatory governance. USAID promotes judicial reform and strengthens the capacity of the national parliament. Assistance in conflict mitigation and support to the Aceh peace process resulted in peaceful elections in 2006, installing that province’s first democratically elected governor. Similarly, programs promoting voter education, election administration, and monitoring will help ensure that the 2009 presidential and parliamentary elections run smoothly.

Economic Growth
For years, corruption has hampered Indonesia’s economy. Now, efforts to combat corruption, enhance financial sector soundness, and build a better business climate are paying off. USAID is helping Indonesia generate economic growth—which rose to 6.3 percent in 2007—and create employment opportunities for future generations. USAID initiatives facilitate financial sector reforms and advance anti-corruption efforts. Support to the Indonesian Financial Intelligence Unit helps detect and prevent financial crime and terrorism financing. Initiatives to improve the investment and trade climate through streamlined business licensing and registration, coupled with efforts to boost the competitiveness of agribusinesses and small- and medium-sized enterprises, create stable livelihoods for thousands.

Investing In People: Protecting Lives and Fragile Environments
Through strategic investments to improve the quality of health services, disease control, and pandemic preparedness, USAID programs make a meaningful difference in people’s lives. Assistance to Indonesia’s Ministry of Health has extended both the reach and the efficacy of maternal and neonatal services, reducing mortality in those groups. Programs to mitigate the spread of HIV/AIDS and disease-resistant tuberculosis have been extended to some of the country’s most remote areas. An avian influenza surveillance system is now active in nine provinces, and 14,000 community volunteers have been trained to recognize and report the virus.

Indonesia’s forests rank among the largest in the world. However, rampant deforestation makes the country a significant emitter of greenhouse gases. The United States targets illegal logging and the burning of forests, and a habitat conservation project is underway to preserve the world’s largest remaining home for endangered orangutans.

Humanitarian Assistance
Perched atop the disaster-prone Pacific Ring of Fire, Indonesia’s population is perpetually at the mercy of the earth’s permutations. The United States was the first on the ground in Banda Aceh after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, providing essential food, water, and sanitation facilities and preventing a secondary disaster-related health crisis. In Yogyakarta, the scene of a massive earthquake in 2006, 10,000 transitional shelters were built for earthquake victims. Thousands of individuals benefit from USAID-funded relief operations annually.

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