PORTALJABAR, DISTRICT. BANDUNG - West Java Provincial Secretary Herman Suryatman opened the Governor's Coordination Meeting as Representative of the Central Government (GWPP) in the context of poverty alleviation in Grand Sunshine, Bandung Regency, Tuesday (30/4/2024).

This coordination meeting aims to build synergy between regional apparatus in 27 cities/districts in an effort to increase understanding of the function and role of the governor as a representative of the central government in the regions for poverty alleviation in West Java.

Present at the coordination meeting were regional secretaries and heads of relevant regional apparatus from 27 cities/districts throughout West Java.

When met after the opening of the coordination meeting, Herman said there were three strategies to implement a scheme to accelerate the eradication of extreme poverty in West Java. First, namely through reducing the burden of public expenditure.

"Reducing the burden of expenses includes ensuring that the poor, especially the extreme poor, receive protection, assistance and social security so that the burden of expenses can be minimized," said Herman.

Second, he continued, by increasing the income of the poor by facilitating accessibility to capital and business permits.

This encourages the empowerment of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) so that poor people do not run to emok banks or loan sharks.

"So the poor must be given ease to access formal financial institutions. Therefore we will also facilitate the poor so that they are literate, then have the minimum requirements for business and have an NIB," said Herman.

"We will prepare and accelerate so that the poor can access formal, sharia-based finance, which of course provides cheap and very competitive services. God willing, the poor can increase their income," he added.

Third, minimizing pockets of poverty through collaboration with district/city and provincial strategic programs.

Meanwhile, to reduce stunting, Herman mentioned two simple strategies that must be routinely pursued in the field.

First, before giving birth to a pregnant woman, make sure the pregnant woman gets blood supplement tablets, also checks with a health worker at least six times and gets animal protein such as eggs, meat, fish and milk.

Then secondly, after birth, the target is toddlers 0-6 months to ensure they receive exclusive breastfeeding.

Toddlers 7-24 months must ensure that apart from getting complementary foods for breast milk (MP ASI), they also get animal protein.

"I think it's simple, but what is difficult is the execution and that requires commitment from the provincial government, district/city government. Let's execute it together," he said.

Herman said, by handling it from upstream to downstream, starting from teenagers, couples of childbearing age/bride and groom, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and children aged 0-59 months, poverty and stunting in West Java could decrease significantly.

"Eradicate poverty, make zero new stunting a reality. God willing, the poverty and stunting rate in West Java will decrease. Once again the West Java figure is an aggregation of city districts. Therefore together, the key is synergy, collaboration or in Sundanese it is sabilulungan," he concluded.