April, 2020, Southeast Asia
Joris van Etten and Tiffany M. Tran

For many of Indonesia’s urban poor who work in the informal sector, social distancing is nearly impossible if they want to maintain their income. Two key policies can help.

Indonesia is at a critical juncture on how it protects and responds to the needs of its millions of urban poor. It is clear that urban poor populations could disproportionately suffer from—and contribute to—the spread of COVID-19 due to their lack of adequate housing and basic services.

With large-scale social restrictions in place, those who earn daily wages as informal workers are facing dual blows to health and livelihood. Without a sufficient response that addresses their basic needs, these urban poor and near-poor Indonesians — who will likely fall deeper into poverty as this crisis becomes protracted — are most at risk.

Besides enhancing testing, contact tracing, and isolation of those who have been in contact with people who’ve tested positive, measures to support vulnerable populations are more urgent than ever.

To enhance the resilience of the country’s urban poor, two complementary areas of intervention are needed: one that cushions the economic impact of the disaster, and one that provides the basic services needed to stay safe and healthy.