Social cash assistance for food security during a disaster: lesson learned from Indonesia

There was a change in the environment and food security threat during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many countries, including Indonesia, are forced to allocate funds to reduce the risk of this disaster. The Government Republic of Indonesia, through the Ministry of Social Affairs, has launched a Social Cash Assistance Program for 10 million families affected by COVID-19. This study aims to identify how families affected by COVID-19 take advantage of this social cash assistance. The study was conducted on the beneficiaries of social assistance, in cash transfer of IDR 600,000 (USD 40), per month, for three months. This study involved 2290 beneficiaries as respondents spread across 12 provinces. The sampling technique was the Cohen Manion Morrison Table by proportional stratified random sampling. The findings show that (1) 99% of cash assistance is used for basic needs, especially for food, and (2) cash assistance could be used for basic needs for around two to three weeks, thereby strengthening food security. Recommendations are submitted based on the results of this study related to social cash assistance and food security. The first is that this assistance still needs to be continued until the COVID-19 pandemic is over. It is to help families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic meet their daily needs. Second, most respondents do not have a fixed income during the pandemic, so providing capital and business startups are needed to increase family income sustainably to maintain food security.

Re-Adaptation of COVID-19 Impact for Sustainable Improvement of Indonesian Villages' Social Resilience in the Digital Era

The policy article aims to formulate a re-adaptation to the impact of COVID-19 that strengthens the social resilience of villages in a sustainable manner based on empirical findings. This article uses a sequential mixed model research design approach analysis with focus group discussion, and it is strengthened by data collected from 105 respondents chosen through random sampling techniques, online in-depth interviews, and group interviews in the villages where the article was conducted. The result showed that the village government was able to build a dialogue with villagers to find common understanding and build collective action to overcome the impact of COVID-19. Another finding is that the village government can realize real action in synergizing social protection policies from the government with the development of social security in rural communities. It was concluded that the experience of overcoming the impact of COVID-19 should be used as an innovation in the development mechanism of village governments in Indonesia. The innovation described in this article is known as re-adaptation. Disaster adaptation is designed and included in the village government's development planning mechanism document. The article has limitations because it does not examine existing regulations that could be used to expand innovative practices. © 2022 WITPress. All rights reserved.

Public Attitudes Toward the Implementation of Social/Physical Distancing Appeal During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Since the first case of COVID-19 was found in Indonesia, the government has started to appeal to the public to always keep their distances (social/physical distancing). For the public, this appeal was new and its implementation requires adaptation. This is what encourages us to find out more about people attitudes in implementing this social/ physical distancing appeal. This research was conducted one month after the first case was found and before the Indonesia large-scale social restrictions/PSBB was implemented. This research used a descriptive quantitative approach with data collection techniques through online surveys distributed through social media. The results showed that in general the attitude of the community in implementing social/physical distancing has a high enough value. There are three aspects of attitude that are assessed, namely cognition, affection, and conation. The majority of respondents realized that social/ physical distancing needed to be done to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and had also applied various appeals regarding this matter. Even though the affection component related to the application of appeals to worship at home has a low value compared to other appeals related to social/ physical distancing which have an average value of above 90 percent. The mass media has provided information to the general public, but there are several aspects that require a more persuasive and personal approach. Therefore, increasing public awareness of social/physical distancing calls through community leaders is important.