KSP Moeldoko: The Government Is Here For Persons With Disabilities

JAKARTA - Head of the Presidential Staff Office (KSP) Moeldoko said the government would always be present to ensure access to education, health, work and infrastructure is barrier-free for people with disabilities, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Various studies show that a prolonged pandemic situation has contributed to an increase in the number of violence against vulnerable groups," Moeldoko said in a press release, reported by Antara, Thursday, August 26.

Moeldoko said to answer various problems experienced by people with disabilities, the government prepared several policies, such as the Social Assistance Program for Persons with Disabilities (ASPD) and Social Rehabilitation Assistance (ATENSI). These two programs were created to provide assistance to groups of people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, said Moeldoko, the government also targets disability groups as one of the priority groups to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Based on data from the Ministry of Health, as of August 2021, there were 562,242 vaccine recipients from persons with disabilities.

There is also a government program, namely the Mental Health Service or SEJIWA, which can also be used by persons with disabilities.

"We at the Presidential Staff Office have been running the Mental Health Service program or SEJIWA since April last year," said Moeldoko. This program was initiated by KSP together with the Indonesian Psychological Association, the Ministry of Health, and several other parties.

SEJIWA, he said, is a psychological service for the community, including for groups of people with disabilities. The public can simply access it via a toll-free telephone, namely contact 119 with extension 8. There are at least 629 volunteers from psychology experts who provide free mental health consultation assistance for all groups.

Moeldoko said President Joko Widodo was also particularly strongly committed to paying attention to the plight of persons with disabilities, including through the preparation of Law no. 8 of 2016 concerning Persons with Disabilities, and Presidential Regulation no. 68/ 2020 concerning the establishment of the National Commission for Disabilities.

According to the former TNI commander, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a high social impact on persons with disabilities.

Until March 2021, said Moeldoko, citing data from the Ministry of Women's and Children's Protection Empowerment Symphony (KPPPA), there were 110 cases of violence against children with disabilities. During this pandemic, many people with disabilities have lost their right to care.

This case was caused by a parent or guardian who died after contracting COVID-19. This leads to exploitation by family members of persons with disabilities because they think that the condition of children's disabilities can bring economic benefits.

Meanwhile, said Moeldoko, the Indonesian Women with Disabilities Association (HWDI) last year conducted a survey of 55 female respondents with disabilities. Research on respondents in the age range of 15-65 years showed as many as 80 percent of respondents experienced gender-based violence.

Also attending the national seminar were the Head of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) Lieutenant General TNI Ganip Warsito and the Head of the Volunteer Division of the COVID-19 Handling Task Force Andre Rahardian.