INTRODUCTION TACKLING MALNUTRITION IN EAST NUSA TENGGARA NTT:

THE SITUATION OF CHILDREN AND WOMEN IN INDONESIA 2000-2010 186 THE SITUATION OF CHILDREN AND WOMEN IN INDONESIA 2000-2010 187 4.2.2.3 Economic context Malnutrition breeds a poverty cycle by lowering productivity and income in adulthood, in turn feeding back into the likelihood of malnutrition for the next generation. It is not surprising, therefore, that NTT is one of the poorest regions in Indonesia. Based on data from the NTT Provincial Bureau of Statistics BPS 31 , the number of poor people in NTT in March 2009 was 1,010,000 people, or 23.31 per cent of the provincial population, far higher than the national average see the Figure 4.2.3. Poverty was at its most severe during the period 1993-1999 due to the economic crisis affecting Indonesia at that time, and since then the percentage of those living below the poverty line has been decreasing. The trend took a definite turn for the better after 2006 following a recovery from the removal of fuel subsidies and the ban on rice imports. While the percentage of the population living below the poverty line in NTT is considerably higher than the national average, the gap has been closing somewhat over time. 32 Figure 4.2.3: Percentage of population below the poverty line, NTT versus Indonesia 1999-2009 Source: BPS - Statistics Indonesia, Statistical Yearbook 2010, based on the National Socio-Economic Survey 2009 In general, there is a considerable disparity between the relative sizes of rural and urban populations living below the poverty line: 25.35 per cent in rural areas versus 14.01 per cent in urban areas. 33 According to the study by Barlow and Ria 2007 34 , the GDP per capita in NTT varied greatly among districtsmunicipalities, with that in the provincial capital, Kupang, and several other towns being over three times the average of other districts. In general, areas with the largest poor populations are those with high dependency on subsistence farming activities such as cultivation of corn and other basic foods for consumption rather than income. These include Sumba Barat, Kupang, Timor Tengah Selatan and Timor Tengah Utara, Lembata and Manggarai. Development initiatives to relieve poverty and malnutrition should focus on the poorest districts of NTT with the aim of closing this gap. 31 BPS - Statistics Indonesia 2009 Statistical Yearbook 2009 based on the National Socio-Economic Survey, SUSENAS, 2008, BPS: Jakarta 32 Ibid. 33 BPS - Statistics Indonesia 2009, Statistical Yearbook 2009, based on the National Socio-Economic Survey 2008 34 Barlow, C. and Gondowarsiot, R. 2007 Economic development and poverty alleviation in Nusa Tenggara Timur Percent 45.00 40.00 35.00 30.00 25.00 20.00 15.00 10.00 5.00 0.00 50.00 2000 1999 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Indonesia East Nusa Tenggara 46.73 23.43 18.95 18.40 18.20 17.42 16.66 15.97 17.75 16.58 15.42 14.15 36.52 33.01 30.74 28.63 27.86 28.19 29.34 27.51 25.65 23.31 Figure 4.2.4: Percentage of poor population by district, NTT 2008 Source: BPS - Statistics Indonesia, based on National Socio-Economic Survey 2008 35 4.2.2.4 Human development Figure 4.2.5: Trends in development indices, NTT 1999-2007 Source: HDI from BPSBAPPENASUNDP, Indonesia Human Development Reports 1999-2007; GEM and GDI from BPS - Statistics Indonesia and The Ministry of Women’s Empowerment, Gender Based Human Development 1999-2007 35 BPS - Statistics Indonesia 2009 Data dan Informasi Kemiskinan 2008 Buku 2: KabupatenKota based on National Socio-Economic Survey, SUSENAS, 2008 , BPS: Jakarta Index 70.0 65.0 60.0 55.0 50.0 45.0 40.0 1999 2002 2004 2005 2006 2007 60.4 56.8 56.3 58.6 59.6 61.3 63.1 56.3 46.2 46.4 57.3 59.0 61.0 60.3 62.7 63.6 64.8 65.4 Year HDI GDI GEM Kab. Flores Timur Kab. Nageko Kota Kupang Kab. Ngada Kab. Sikka Kab. Bellu Kab. Ende Kab. Manggarai Barat Kab. Alor East Nusa Tenggara NTT Kab. Kupang Kab. Timor Tengah Utara Kab. Manggarai Kab. Lembata Kab. Timor Tengah Selatan Kab. Sumba Barat Daya Kab. Rote Ndao Kab. Sumba Timur Kab. Sumba Barat Kab. Sumba Tengah 13.2 14.5 14.7 15.5 17.3 19.7 24.9 25.1 25.1 25.7 27.0 27.7 28.6 29.2 33.6 36.5 36.6 37.1 37.9 38.7 0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 Percent