Blusukan in Papua, Gibran Pushes for Equitable Development

Vice President Gibran Rakabuming carried out a working visit to Raja Ampat Regency on Wednesday (22/4/2026). During the visit, numerous issues were addressed, ranging from education and health to the people’s economy and infrastructure.

In Raja Ampat Regency, the Vice President highlighted the distribution of Free Nutritious Meals at Waisai State Elementary School 2, which was found not to meet food safety standards. He discovered that the meals for the students were cooked too early, potentially leading to spoilage or deterioration by the time they were distributed to the beneficiaries. The Vice President called for improvements to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to prevent any unwanted incidents.

While inspecting the Merah Putih Fishermen’s Village in Raja Ampat, he invited several fishermen for a dialogue to absorb their aspirations. The Vice President aimed to ensure that the Merah Putih Fishermen’s Village, one of the government’s priority programmes, could truly address the classic issues faced by fishermen: access to fuel, cold storage, fish prices, and distribution chains.

“I understand that there are still many shortcomings here; we will complete them so that productivity can also increase,” he stated.

From the fishermen’s village, the Vice President continued his journey to the Raja Ampat Regional General Hospital. Despite being a world-class tourist destination, health facilities in Raja Ampat remain very limited. This situation forces local residents and tourists alike to be referred to Bali for serious medical conditions. Therefore, during his visit, the Vice President noted the health facilities needed to elevate the Raja Ampat Regional General Hospital.

During the working visit to six cities/regencies in the Papua region from 20-22 April 2026, he conducted blusukan from fish markets to hospitals to ensure that the government’s priority programmes run optimally and are directly felt by the community.

“We have seen the development of hospitals, fishermen’s villages, schools; we have also seen programmes like the Free Nutritious Meals and others. We ensure that these programmes from the President run well in Papua, and most importantly, these programmes are all impactful for the people of Papua,” he emphasised.