Australia Supports to Reduce Poverty

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr announced that Australia will provide an additional $99 million over the next two years for Indonesia's flagship poverty reduction program.

"Today I'm visiting Manarul Huda Madrasah, an Islamic School that has already seen the benefits of Australian aid through school building repairs and better sanitation facilities," Senator Carr said as quoted in a press statement of the Australian embassy here on Thursday.

Senator Carr said the National Program for Community Empowerment (PNPM) is benefitting around 40 million of Indonesia's poorest people through community grants, allowing the community to decide where the needs are greatest.

Under the PNPM program, more than 30,000 schools and 7,800 health facilities have been built or rehabilitated since 2008. "PNPM also helps children to get into schools like this one in villages all over Indonesia, by providing scholarships and building better roads and facilities," the visiting foreign minister stated.

More than 177,000 students have benefited from scholarships under the program since 2008. Senator Carr said Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has made improving the lives of his country's poorest a priority and Australia is proud to assist with this work.

"Almost 120 million Indonesians, nearly half the population, live on less than $2 a day," Senator Carr said. (*/M038)