Indonesia's recent issuance of a Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Bond reflects the country’s leap forward in tapping innovative sources of financing to fund projects that benefit communities and the environment, according to top UN and Indonesian Government officials. In September Indonesia became the first country in Southeast Asia to issue an SDG Bond in the global debt capital market, raising EUR 500 million (USD 584 million). The Bond will enable the government to finance social and environmental projects, further demonstrating its commitment to the SDGs. “The SDG Bond demonstrates the Government of Indonesia’s commitment in accelerating the achievement of SDGs, despite the financial constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This move also highlights our innovative and forward-thinking approach to raise new funds for SDGs projects and keep us on track for the final 9-year sprint towards 2030,” said the Director General of Budget Financing and Risk Management, of Ministry of Finance, Luky Alfirman. Indonesia is a growing economic powerhouse in the Asia-Pacific region, and it is a member of the G-20.Despite having experienced robust growth prior to the pandemic, the country has been confronted with issues related to inequality and poverty. The SDG bond provides an alternative source of financing for Indonesia to fast-track achievement of the SDGs, particularly in light of the pandemic. “The COVID-19 pandemic set back much of Indonesia's hard-won progress on poverty alleviation and diverted a large portion of the country’s public resources to handling the crisis,” says UN Resident Coordinator for Indonesia Valerie Julliand. “Indonesia’s issuance of an SDG Bond is an example of the country’s ambitious embrace of innovative financing as a means to make up the deficit and maintain its commitment to leaving no one behind.” Prior to the issuance, the Government of Indonesia created a securities framework to ensure that the proceeds of the SDG Bond are directed to the most appropriate projects. The Framework—which was developed by the Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with the Ministry of National Development Planning (BAPPENAS), the Coordinating Ministry of Maritime and Investments, with support from UNDP, HSBC and Credit Agricole—includes project selection criteria such as indicators to ensure that proceeds are allocated to projects with long-term impacts. As part of a globally recognized external review process, CICERO and IISD subjected the framework to a verification process to ensure it met the highest international standards. The reviewers classified the framework as “Medium Green”, citing its strong outlook for medium-to-long-term green development, and gave a “Good” rating to the framework’s overall governance. UNDP worked in partnership with the Ministry of Finance during all stages of the technical aspects of SDG Bond’s issuance. This collaboration included developing a feasibility study and the securities framework as well as supporting the verification process. “The SDG Bond provide an innovative form of funding that can trigger more financing for socially and environmentally conscious projects. UNDP is honored to have been part of this milestone with the Government of Indonesia and we look forward to seeing the concrete results of the proceeds which can better protect our planet and improve the lives of millions of Indonesians,” said UNDP Indonesia Resident Representative, Norimasa Shimomura. UNDP Indonesia was the first UNDP Country Office to develop innovative sustainable debt instruments when it supported the Indonesian Government’s creation of the world’s first ‘Green Sukuk’, issued in 2018. Proceeds from the Green Sukuk were used to fund initiatives on climate change mitigation and other projects to advance the SDGs. Following this success, UNDP Mexico then supported the Government of Mexico in issuing its first SDG Bond in 2020 and 2021, and UNDP Uzbekistan in issuing the country’s first SDG Bond in July 2021. UNDP’s support is part of a UN Joint  Programme on Accelerating SDGs Investment in Indonesia (ASSIST), alongside the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). It aims to support the Government of Indonesia in meeting its SDGs targets by scaling up proven and new financing instruments (thematic bonds, impact funds, and SDG-linked loans) and developing the capacities of key stakeholders. The Joint Programme is funded by the Joint SDG Fund, and with contributions from the following donor countries: Denmark, the European Union, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. - More information about the Indonesia SDG Bond issuance can be found via the Ministry of Finance’s official website. - For further information: Tomi Soetjipto, UNDP Communication Specialist, suryo.tomi@undp.org Muhammad Didi Hardiana, Head of UNDP Innovative Financing Lab, muhammad.hardiana@undp.org Afke Bootsman, Head of UN Resident Coordinator’s Office, afke.bootsman@un.org  

Since the start of the pandemic, 25,430 children in Indonesia have lost one or both caregivers due to COVID-19 according to a nationwide mapping by the Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection (MoWECP) and UNICEF. The mapping finds that the majority of children (57 per cent) have lost a male caregiver, over a third (37 per cent) have lost a female caregiver, and around five per cent have lost both caregivers. Most of the children are currently being looked after by a female caregiver, some by their extended families while 114 children are unaccompanied and are not being cared for by any adult. The loss of one or both caregivers can have a detrimental impact on the nutrition, growth and development of children and can put them at greater risk of neglect, violence and exploitation – particularly infants and young children from low-income families. Children orphaned or bereft of their caregivers often face adverse consequences, including poverty and institutionalization. The surviving or alternative caregivers also face additional economic and mental health burdens, which often fall on women and adolescent girls and may put them at increased risk of dropping out of school.  “We continue to monitor responses given to children whose parents died due to COVID-19 from all stakeholders,” said I. Gusti Ayu Bintang Darmawati, Minister of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection. “We will make sure that these children are protected, and their rights can be fulfilled." The MoWECP, UNICEF and partners are working together to continuously identify children who have been orphaned due to COVID-19 in Indonesia, facilitate access to mental health and psychosocial support for children and caregivers, and strengthen coordination efforts to ensure children remain in family-based care. Children who have lost a caregiver due to COVID-19, are identified using RapidPro, a software to collect data via SMS, WhatsApp and other communications channels. UNICEF has customized RapidPro for this purpose so that social services across the country can collect key information on children such as age, gender, location and who they are staying with via WhatsApp. As an initial step, UNICEF today handed over 1250 recreational kits and 1100 personal protective equipment to the Government to support social workers as they carry out home-based activities with vulnerable children. “The number of children orphaned due to COVID-19 has sharply increased over the past year and half, but it is not a short-term issue,” said UNICEF Representative Debora Comini. “We must make sure that orphaned children are properly protected, not just now but in the years to come.” A long-term, coordinated effort to protect children who have been orphaned due to COVID-19 as well as children who are already in institutions should include:   Carrying out continuous identification of children affected by COVID-19-associated orphanhood. Strengthening the role of family to ensure children remain in family-based care and expanding social protection coverage to include family members caring for children who have lost a caregiver due to COVID-19, especially vulnerable women and girls so that they can remain in school. Conducting periodic monitoring on the well-being of the child and the care arrangements to ensure that children remain in a safe and protective environment and have access to services.

On the 27th of August 2021, 24 impact-oriented, women-led startups pitched online to the Indonesia Women Empowerment Fund (IWEF) and other impact investors and ecosystem partners in Indonesia and abroad as part of “SheDisrupts Indonesia 2021” program. Initiated by IWEF and Creatella Impact, in partnership with Investing in Women, UN Women, UNDP, and Citibank, “SheDisrupts” program aimed to empower Indonesian women entrepreneurs to build and scale innovative and tech-driven business solutions to complex social and environmental issues in Indonesia. “Creatella impact identifies promising social enterprises, and provides a range of services to strengthen their business model and presence, and increase chances of access to funding. We do this by applying the world best practices, but also, continuously learning together in this dynamically shifting industry," said Nozomi Witherspoon, the Board Director and Treasurer of Creatella Impact. The venture competition was launched in June 2021. From all the applications, 50 startups were selected for a round of 1:1 mentorship with 57 experienced impact investors, entrepreneurs and advisors from around the world. 24 promising startups were selected from this shortlisted pool of 50, and were invited to join the 2-week pre-acceleration. The curriculum of the pre-acceleration included lectures, workshops, group work and 1-on-1 mentoring on business, technology and impact-related topics, with a strong focus on gender issues and women empowerment. "We are proud to be part of the mentoring team for the founders, to witness that these talented and mission-driven women founders are not only more conversant on gender equality but also empowered to bring changes to the industry, creating an impact on women’s empowerment. We hope that more acceleration programs in Indonesia will adopt a similar gender-responsive approach to fully unlock women's potential in the tech and digital economy sectors," said Jamshed Kazi, UN Women Indonesia's Representative and Liaison to ASEAN. Atiek Fadhilah, the founder of start-up Teroka, a mobile cooling box powered by solar energy, shared her testimonial as one of the 24 selected participants. “SheDisrupts 2021 were the most intense weeks for me. The courses provided are detailed but also applicable to my business. I received much input and encouragement from the mentors. The sharing sessions from women entrepreneurs were very interactive, and I thank everyone behind SheDisrupts for the enlightening experience. My team and I have become more confident about taking the next step in our journey.” The 2-week pre-acceleration program concluded on Friday, the 27th August with a public virtual demo day, which was attended by 150 investors, mentors, and partners. “I would like to extend my deepest congratulations for all 24 ventures present today. I hope that this initiative serves as a platform to inspire and encourage you all to share innovative ideas and help work through these difficult times. It has been extraordinary to see the exceptional support delivered especially given that we are now in the decade of action as we work towards the SDGs,” said Sophie Kemkhadze, Deputy Resident Representative for UNDP Indonesia. Brief descriptions about pitching startups can be found in the website here: https://shedisruptsindonesia2021.pory.app/

For millions of villagers in Indonesia’s remote areas, a 12-hour-per-day erratic electricity supply is the norm. With students studying by candlelight at night and health centres not running at full capacity, these communities face an uphill struggle to improve their well-being.  But a recently launched UN-backed initiative from the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) could change that, thanks to a group of Indonesians dubbed “energy patriots”, who have been tasked with boosting the use of clean energy resources, with the goal of improving access to healthcare, education and economic development in rural villages.   29-year-old environmentalist Ristifah is one of 23 energy patriots recruited by MEMR as part of the UN Development Programme’s (UNDP) ACCESS clean energy project. The four-year initiative aims to instal solar panels in some of the remotest islands of Indonesia.  Growing up in a rural village, Ristifah experienced coping with a limited electricity supply first-hand; “We only had three hours of electricity a day”. With limitations on when they could charge their phones and access the internet, Ristifah and her peers felt cut off from developments across the rest of Indonesia. Now, Ristifah and her colleagues will be spending a year living in their assigned villages to prepare the infrastructure for solar energy generation.  Their tasks include helping the community to determine electricity tariffs, liaising with contractors, recruiting operators and technicians, and helping the local renewable energy service providers to manage new power plants. United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7   SDG7: Clean and Affordable Energy Sustainable Development Goal 7 calls for access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. Progress on this Goal is being made, with encouraging signs that energy is becoming more sustainable and widely available.  However, 789 million people – predominantly in sub-Saharan Africa – are living without access to electricity, and hundreds of millions more only have access to very limited or unreliable electricity. It is estimated that only 28 per cent of health facilities have access to reliable electricity in sub-Saharan Africa, yet energy is critically needed to keep people connected at home and to run life-saving equipment in hospitals. An urgent need for clean energy Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country, urgently needs clean energy capacity: the blistering pace of economic development over the past decade has lifted millions out of poverty, but it has also dramatically increased the demand for energy.  The government has pledged to phase out all coal-fired power stations by 2055, but some 30 million people out of the country’s population or around 267 million do not have adequate access to electricity.  Ristafah and her colleagues will oversee the installation of 1.2 MW off-grid solar- power plants, which will provide electricity for around 20,000 people in remote villages; although that is only a fraction of Indonesia’s total unmet needs, the programme serves as a blueprint for rural development that goes beyond basic socio-economic support. Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) Some 126 homes in Bangko village in South Sulawesi, Indonesia will benefit from solar powered electricity. ‘I dream of the day when the houses sparkle with lights’ Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago nation, with 17,000 islands sprawled across three different time zones, many of which are out of reach of the national electricity grid. Ristifah will be assigned to a coastal fishing village of Muna, in southeastern Sulawesi Province. Like most island villages, Muna is heavily dependent on fuel-fired generators for its electricity. Such generators are often inadequate for communities’ needs, and the toxic fumes they spew that can harm the environment and cause health issues including respiratory illnesses and cancer.  A more consistent rural electricity supply could open opportunities for greater economic development and help people in remote villages like Muna to lead healthier lives. Ristifah bears the heavy responsibility of ensuring the success of the project, but it’s one she’s keen to embrace: she will move 1,500 km away from her home on Indonesia’s most populous island of Java, to take up her post as Muna’s energy facilitator. But she says that the chance to make a difference in the lives of her compatriots makes that sacrifice worthwhile. “I hope to inspire more girls to achieve higher education,” she said. “I dream of the day when the houses sparkle with lights that the community installed, and children can have a better future.”  Those sparkling lights will help to lessen inequalities between Indonesians across the country according to the UN Resident Coordinator in Indonesia Valerie Julliand  © UNESCO/Togean Togo Una-Una Biosphere Reserve – Indonesia There are some 17,000 islands in Indonesia, some of which lack reliable power sources “The difference in the pace of development between urban and rural areas has often been stark, in large part due to discrepancies in access to power,” said Ms. Julliand says, adding that the work undertaken by the energy patriots will “ensure communities have a say in how important infrastructure projects that affect their lives are developed. They can go a long way towards addressing urban-rural inequality.”  Promoting the adoption of sustainable energy sources is a key component of the UN-backed Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs. Goal 7 on affordable and clean energy aims to accelerate access to electricity in poorer countries whilst improving energy efficiency and renewable sources of power. Verania Andria, Senior Advisor for UNDP’s Sustainable Energy Strategic Programme in Indonesia, said that the project drives home the “importance of our principle of leaving no behind as Indonesia makes great strides towards economic development,” adding that the “energy patriots show us that we can implement inclusive and sustainable rural energy development projects that could be replicated in rural communities around the world." 
  ACCESS to energy UNDP’s four-year Accelerating Clean Energy to Reduce Inequality (ACCESS) Project, which receives financial support from the Korean International Cooperation Agency, has supported 23 young people in joining the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of Indonesia’s clean energy programme.  They are among 100 the Ministry is helping to train in partnership with a local NGO. Each will be deployed for 12 months at a time in villages across the breadth of the archipelago.   This article originally appeared on UN News, on 29 August 2021