[Unpad Media Channel] The United Nations (UN) with Excellence Center (Pusat Unggulan) of Universitas Padjadjaran SDGs Center, released a study entitled “Leave No One Behind in Indonesia A Data-Driven Study” in a seminar that was held in Mercure Sabang Hotel Jakarta, Thursday (7/12/2023).
A website that released the study explained that it is based on the commitment of UN members who unanimously agree to adopt the 2030 agenda for sustainable development and its 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The new agenda places the imperative to “leave no one behind” or LNOB and “reach the furthest behind first.”
In her study report introduction, the United Nations Resident Coordinator for Indonesia, Valerie Julliand, said that the 2030 Agenda and its LNOB pledge were fundamentally rooted in the long-term commitment of the Member States to human rights and the principle of equality and non-discrimination.
Prof. Arief Anshory Yusuf, an expert from Unpad SDGs Center and an investigator principal on the study, delivered that in Indonesia, the UN built the abovementioned prospects to fulfill the promise and attempted to reach those who were most left behind in Indonesia.
Therefore, the UN does the first comprehensive study titled “Leave No One Behind in Indonesia: A Data-Driven Study Identifying Inequalities and Discrimination Faced by Those Furthest Left Behind.”
“The study spotlights various marginalized and vulnerable groups across several development dimensions, showing who is further behind populations and the reasons,” added Prof. Arief.
The Unpad SDGs Center team conducted the study in collaboration with the UN team in Indonesia. As mentioned by Prof. Arief, the study found that elderly and disabled people, especially those in rural areas, were the most left behind group in Indonesia on many SDGs, such as low education rate, access to technology, and non-accessible to financial institutes. Elderly women were also a marginalized group.
Furthermore, Prof. Arief proposed several policy recommendations to the government. First, for marginalized groups, particularly those identified in the qualitative analysis of this report, there is a need for better representation in national statistics.
Second, improve social protection by giving more attention to a group identified as the most marginal, mainly elderly, disabled people, and elderly women in rural areas.
Another recommendation is to refine various legislation that aims to protect the most marginalized groups, make sure disabled people have health insurance and receive medical access when needed, and improve the school curricula to reduce negative attitudes towards marginalized groups.
“Lastly, economic development must balance regionally, such as IT development and renewable energy in rural areas,” said Prof. Arief.
In the seminar, Valerie Julliand said that the study in Indonesia was purposed to fill the gap in the comprehension of poverty and persistence vulnerability in Indonesia—to understand the root cause of why most people were left behind even though Indonesia had impressive economic growth during the last decades.
She said that without human rights, there would be no actual development. The encouragement of a fair and sustainable world—without leaving anyone behind—was the main principle of the 2030 UN Agenda.
“The global commitment for not leaving any people is not only a moral imperative, but also a pragmatic approach to achieve Sustainable Development Goals, especially to eradicate poverty,” she said. (arm/SA)*
