Advancing HIV-sensitive Social Protection in Indonesia: A National Stakeholder Consultation

Background

The HIV epidemic in Indonesia is growing at one of the fastest rates in Asia. The number of people living with HIV (PLHIV) grew from an estimated 11,000 in 2001 to 310,000 [200,000-460,000] in 2009, which is the third largest in Asia and the Pacific, only after India and Thailand. The number of provinces reporting HIV cases also increased, from only 16 provinces in 2004 to 33 provinces by the end of 2009.

The epidemic has had a significant impact on people living with HIV and their households as revealed by a 2011 UNDP study. Comparing nearly 1,000 HIV-affected households with over 3,400 control or “non-affected” households from across 7 provinces, the study found that HIV-affected households are facing far greater economic and social challenges, further aggravated by poverty-inducing coping mechanisms they are forced to employ. Major challenges for household affected by HIV included:

• Higher unemployment rates;
• Three-fold increase in expenditures on health care; and
• Lower levels of school participation.

Given the socioeconomic challenges faced by HIV-affected households, there is a clear need for HIV-sensitive social protection as a critical impact mitigation strategy: Strategically integrate HIV into relevant social protection schemes, making them “HIV-sensitive.”

Indonesia has made substantial progress is establishing a social protection floor including increasing access to health care through schemes for formal sector workers and the poor as well as income security programs for the working age population. The government has also committed to improving coverage and quality of these services by addressing key challenges such as low and poorly defined coverage levels of health schemes, limited coverage of cash transfer programs, poor implementation of school scholarship programs and lack of income security measures for informal sector workers. As the Indonesian social protection floor develops, it is important to take into account the needs of people with HIV.

Objectives

• To increase understanding of the benefits of inclusion of people with HIV and key affected populations with social protection schemes;
• To ensure that all relevant stakeholders takes steps to address stigma and discrimination and humans rights of people with HIV and key affected populations within the context of social protection services;
• To learn from other countries in Asia on how to establish HIV sensitive social protection schemes; and
• To develop an action plan for the roll-out of HIV sensitive social protection schemes in Indonesia.

The consultation will also provide an opportunity for the participants to learn HIV-sensitive social protection schemes from other Asian countries, particularly India and Thailand. On the basis of the shared evidence and knowledge, the participants will identify the steps to advance HIV-sensitive social protection in Indonesia and create a time bound action plan to move the agenda forward.

Proposed results

• Formation of a national task force on HIV-sensitive social protection (if so desired);
• Draft action plans with policy recommendations; and
• Media outreach (e.g. press release, media articles).