Food Aid Budget For Self-Isolating Residents In Yogyakarta Increases To IDR 3 Billion

YOGYAKARTA - The budget for the program to provide food assistance for residents of the City of Yogyakarta who are undergoing self-isolation due to exposure to COVID-19 has been increased to IDR 3 billion.

"The budget requirement is indeed quite large, especially with the increase in cases in July. Of course, the step taken to meet the needs is to reallocate the budget", said Head of the Yogyakarta City Social, Manpower and Transmigration Office Maryustion Tonang quoted by Antara, Wednesday, August 4.

According to him, the Yogyakarta City Social, Manpower, and Transmigration Service has reallocated the budget three times to meet the funding needs to provide food assistance to COVID-19 patients who are undergoing independent isolation.

Maryustion explained that the increased need for funds for the provision of food assistance for residents undergoing self-isolation increased in July 2021, when cases of COVID-19 transmission in the city of Yogyakarta experienced a significant increase and the number of patients undergoing self-isolation increased.

"A day there are 100 to 150 letters from the village containing requests for food assistance for self-isolated patients. Each letter usually contains requests for three to five people", he said.

Officials from the Yogyakarta City Social, Manpower, and Transmigration Office were also unable to process the application for assistance.

"We have added officers to verify incoming applications", said Maryustion.

He emphasized that the distribution of aid was carried out based on verified data.

After the request for assistance is verified, the village apparatus can follow up by asking the group of culinary service providers who are members of the Yogyakarta City Government's Collaborating Program to prepare food assistance for residents undergoing self-isolation.

In this case, the city government provides ready-to-eat food assistance worth IDR 19.000 for one meal to COVID-19 sufferers who are undergoing self-isolation.

Maryustion said that within a day food assistance could be given to 400 to 450 residents who were undergoing self-isolation.

Initially, the city government provided food assistance three times a day to COVID-19 patients undergoing self-isolation, but later cut it to twice a day, in the morning and evening only.

"Currently, requests for assistance have begun to slope so that the verification process can be carried out more smoothly", said Maryustion.

"The provision of assistance is getting smoother because the cases are starting to go down. Likewise, payments for the Gandeng Gendong group who provide food have also been smooth", he added.

According to him, the fulfillment of food needs for patients undergoing quarantine in centralized isolation facilities at the Tegalrejo Shelter and Gemawang Shelter is directly handled by the public kitchen managed by the Tagana City of Yogyakarta.

The public kitchen, which is able to prepare 150 portions of food each time, provides food three times a day for COVID-19 sufferers who are undergoing quarantine.

"The budget management is different. Hopefully, the existing funds are still sufficient to meet these needs", said Maryustion.

In early August, Gemawang Shelter, which can accommodate 30 patients, was recorded to have handled 12 patients, and Tegalrejo Shelter, which could accommodate 84 patients, was recorded to have treated 51 patients.

"The data in the shelter is very dynamic because every day there are patients who enter or leave because they have finished isolation", said Maryustion.