In his speech before global leaders at the UN summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda on Saturday, Vice President Jusuf Kalla reminded developed nations to stick by their assistance commitments so that an ambitious agenda of eliminating poverty by 2030 would not merely be a pipe dream.

Kalla said the agenda demanded a strong and inclusive global partnership to support the means of implementation, while taking into account national circumstances and development priorities.

'€œIt is critically important that international commitments be met, including the official development assistance target by developed countries and the action agenda as agreed at the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, despite lackluster global economic growth,'€ he said.

'€œThe financing mechanism should be coupled with knowledge sharing, technology transfer and wider access to markets for developing countries and least-developed countries, including for the middle-income countries that face many challenges, not least the impact of the recent global economic turmoil.'€

The summit on sustainable development is a continuation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which Indonesia helped initiate.

The MDGs, which produced the most successful antipoverty movement in history, have served as a springboard for the new sustainable development agenda to be adopted by world leaders.

Agreed by the 193 member states of the UN, the new agenda, entitled '€œTransforming Our World: 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development'€, consists of a declaration, 17 sustainable development goals and 169 targets, a section on means of implementation and renewed global partnership and a framework for review and follow-up.

Despite many shortcomings in the adoption of the MDGs, Indonesia has surpassed the goal of halving the percentage of its population living in poverty.

Indonesia is also on track to reduce the prevalence of underweight children, reduce child mortality below the age of five and increase enrollment in elementary education.

Drawing from the MDG implementation, Indonesia has just mainstreamed the Post-2015 Development Agenda into its national development planning, according to Kalla.

In this respect, Indonesia has reduced public spending on fuel subsidies and enhanced budget allocations for social development programs, such as the Indonesian Health Card and Indonesian Smart Card, to give poor households better access to healthcare and education,'€ said Kalla in his speech. Kalla also highlighted the role of non-state actors in the agenda.

'€œThe private sector and civil society play a tremendous role in job creation and community empowerment. Thus, corporate social responsibility and philantropic activities should be enhanced and widened. The political structure should be sufficiently open to incorporate the role of non-state actors.'€

Health Minister Nila F. Moeloek, former Indonesia special envoy for the MDGs, said her ministry would focus on preventive measures when implementing the sustainable development agenda.

'€œIn the 2016 state budget, we will focus on strengthening primary health coverage, such as community health centers [Puskesmas], particularly for people living in poor urban areas and those along the coast,'€ she said.

Improving the distribution of medical workers will also be the ministry'€™s priority in the short run, according to Nila.

'€œIt has been agreed that more medical workers such as midwives, surgeons, internists, anesthetists and pediatricians will be distributed to regions to help patch the imbalances of medical services between cities and rural areas,'€ she said.

In response to questions about coordination between various ministries to achieve the targets set in the new agenda, Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Puan Maharani said she would ensure the various agendas would be her priority.

'€œReducing birth mortality, promoting children'€™s education, improvements in nutrition and sanitation infrastructure will be among the sections that need to be well coordinated, as they are carried out by many different ministries,'€ she said.
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