BP Taskin Applauds Jember Regency's Poverty Alleviation Through Validation

BP Taskin Praises Jember Regency Government’s Poverty Alleviation Through Validation

Info Nasional — The Poverty Alleviation Acceleration Agency (BP Taskin) has praised the Jember Regency Government’s efforts to accelerate poverty reduction by massively and integratively cleaning the data of poor residents. The appreciation was conveyed by BP Taskin Deputy Chief Iwan Sumule at the Socialisation of the Master Plan (Rinduk) and Regional Innovation in Accelerating Poverty Reduction at the TB Taskin Building, Jakarta, on Thursday, 21 May 2026.

The national forum was attended by several ministries and agencies, including the Ministry of Home Affairs, Bappenas, the Ministry of PAN RB, the Statistics Indonesia (BPS), and representatives from 14 local governments across Indonesia. Before the participants, Iwan said the innovations implemented by Jember regency deserve to be national best practice, especially in strengthening the National Socio-Economic Data Single (DTSEN) and improving targeting accuracy of social assistance programs.

“Experience in Jember Regency can become a strategic reference for more integrated and impactful poverty alleviation,” he said.

According to BPS data, the national poverty rate in September 2025 stood at 8.25 percent or around 23.36 million people. The government targets the rate to fall to 4.5–5 percent by 2029, while extreme poverty is targeted to zero by 2026.

“Accelerating poverty reduction must be supported by improving data quality, program accuracy, and effective central–regional coordination,” he added.

He said data integration is the key for social protection programs to truly hit the target and have a real impact on the poor. “The aim is for BP Taskin to become the national data orchestration and integration hub so that government interventions truly have a real impact on the poor.”

Bupati Jember Gus Fawait emphasised that poverty alleviation must be built on accurate data reflecting real conditions on the ground. He said the Jember Regency Government is currently developing a data-driven social intervention pattern based on micro data by Name By Address (BNBA) so that all assistance, whether funded by APBN, APBD, or corporate CSR, truly reaches those in need.

“We are not just building data; we are ensuring the state is present through targeted programs. Because good assistance is that which is received by those who truly deserve and whose conditions on the ground warrant it,” Gus Fawait said.

According to BPS, the poverty rate in Jember Regency fell from 9.01 percent in 2024 to 8.67 percent in 2025. A total of 8.01 thousand people moved out of poverty.

However, in absolute terms, the number of poor people in Jember remains the second highest in East Java, at 216.76 thousand people. Therefore, the regency government is focusing its intervention on the Desil 1 group—the poorest households—through the Verifikasi dan Validasi (Verval) of DTSEN. The total prioritized targets verified reached 97,060 households, with more than 68,000 households prioritized to receive quick, direct intervention.

What has drawn national attention is the large-scale involvement of Jember’s civil servants (ASN) in the data validation process. More than 20,000 civil servants were deployed to the field to verify the on-the-ground conditions.

Before deployment, the civil servants received guidance together with BPS and the Family Hope Program (PKH) of the Social Service to ensure the verval process met national standards. Verification ran for one month, from 17 April to 17 May 2025.

ASNs visited households one by one using ground-check methods to ensure data consistency with actual conditions. The checks covered 39 poverty indicators, including housing conditions, income, access to education, and family social conditions.

The process was supported by web-based digital technology and smartphones so verification results could be uploaded in real time. In addition to speeding up data updates, this system also strengthens transparency and accuracy in policy making.

The verval results showed significant achievements. Of the roughly 260,087 people in Decile 1, 96,126 households were verified or reached 98 percent of the target.

The process found 16,766 residents who were recorded as alive but had died. In addition, 10,703 households were found to have moved out of Jember but were still listed as recipients of social assistance.

These findings underscore the importance of direct field data updates to ensure social protection programs are not mis-targeted. “The government must work with accurate data so that the policies taken do not miss the needs of the people. From valid data, progressive steps can be taken to bring about real social justice,” Gus Fawait concluded. (*)