Program

Social Health Insurance Policy Working Group

Description

Poverty alleviation efforts do not end with direct assistance to the poor. This is because poverty is not caused merely by materialistic qualities, but also by vulnerability and a lack of access to mechanisms that can improve the quality of life for the poor. The empowerment approach is meant to enable the poor with an escape from poverty by making use of the potential and resources they possess.

Community empowerment-based poverty alleviation programmes is at the advanced stage of the poverty alleviation process. Here, poor communities begin to realise their abilities and potential to escape poverty. As an instrument of the programme, the empowerment approach is not meant merely to raise the awareness of poor people to their potential and resources, but also to encourage them to participate on a wider scale, especially in development in their region.

Characteristics

The characteristics of these programmes are as follows:

1. Using the participative approach.
   The participative approach is not merely about a community’s participation in programme implementation, but also their involvement at each stage of programme implementation, including the process of identifying needs, planning, implementing and monitoring programme implementation, and even safeguarding the programme.
    
2. Strengthening community institutional capacity.
   Community-based poverty alleviation programmes emphasise the strengthening of institutional community aspects to increase participation from all elements of a community so that communities are independently capable of developing their desired development. Strengthening institutional capacity does not stop at organising communities to obtain basic rights, but also at strengthening the function of their social institutionals used in poverty alleviation.
    
3. Activities implemented by community groups are self-managed. Community empowerment-based poverty alleviation programmes should foster trust among the poor and give communities the chance to create groups and manage them themselves by developing their potential and encourage their ability to grow independently.
    
4. Sustainable development planning.
   Programme planning is carried out openly with the principle of being from the communities and to the communities. The outcomes will be part of the development planning in sub-districts/villages, districts, regencies and at provincial and national levels. This process requires coordination in executing policies and controlling programme implementation among stakeholders in the implementation of poverty alleviation programmes.

Coverage

Coverage of community empowerment-based poverty alleviation programmes can be classified by:

1. Area
   Community empowerment-based programmes are carried out in rural areas, suburbs and disadvantaged areas.
    
2. Sector
   Community empowerment-based programmes emphasise strengthening the capacity of the poor by developing various schemes based on particular sectors required by communities in a region.

Beneficiaries

Beneficiaries of community empowerment programmes are groups within a community that are categorised as poor. Groups of poor communities are those who still have the capability to utilise their potentials despite existing limitation.

Cluster II Programme

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