Statistic of SouthKalimantan Province Receives Audience from Hulu Sungai Selatan Regional Government

Banjarbaru – In an effort to assist integration, collaboration, and unity in achieving the goals of the Hulu Sungai Selatan Regency government, representatives from the HSS regional government held an audience at the Statistic of South Kalimantan Province on Friday (July 22). The delegation was led by M. Arliyan Syahrial, Head of the Regional Planning, Research, and Development Agency (Bappelitbangda), Siti Zainab, Head of the Health Department, and Zainal Abidin, Secretary of the Education and Culture Department.

Arlian noted that the cooperation between the HSS government and the Central Statistics Agency, both at the provincial and regency levels, has a long-standing and successful history. The recent visit from the HSS government to the Statistic of South Kalimantan Province aimed to seek advice and input regarding the sharpening of public policy interventions in HSS, particularly in poverty alleviation, resulting in a tangible outcome: a decrease in the poverty rate from 5.13% in 2020 to 4.84% in 2021. The regency's achievement in reducing poverty during the pandemic received recognition from BAPPENAS RI in front of the President of Indonesia. Arliyan emphasized that this success is closely linked to the role of the Statistic of South Kalimantan Province and the Statistic of HSS Regency in explaining and analyzing the conditions and causes of poverty in the HSS area.

One of the key policies for sharpening interventions involves increasing the use of data in policy planning (evidence-based policy making). The HSS government has made efforts to integrate the Integrated Social Welfare Data (DTKS) with population data from Dukcapil, student data from Dapodik, and EMIS data from the Ministry of Religious Affairs. This data integration is expected to help reduce extreme poverty. Furthermore, Arliyan hopes to receive input from the BPS for future policy interventions aimed at achieving a zero percent extreme poverty rate in HSS.

Various suggestions were directly provided by the Head of Statistic of South Kalimantan Province, Yos Rusdiansyah, the Head of the General Affairs Division, Ahmad Mudzakkir, and several Senior Statisticians. These suggestions included strengthening program monitoring and evaluation, positioning Hulu Sungai Selatan as a health reference center for the surrounding Banua 6 area, enhancing the enforcement of regulations on early marriage, increasing girls' school participation, maximizing the potential of the young population to support economic digitization, and implementing inclusive poverty alleviation programs that target not only the poor but also the vulnerable and middle-class populations.

In closing, Yos commended the Hulu Sungai Selatan government for successfully integrating and utilizing the DTKS data. Arliyan also expressed gratitude for the time and valuable input provided by the BPS, which will greatly assist in formulating strategies and policies in Hulu Sungai Selatan.