NUSA DUA, BALI, Indonesia, October 10, 2018 – On Wednesday October 10, Kristalina Georgieva, CEO of The World Bank, met His Excellency Vice-President Dr. H. Muhammad Jusuf Kalla to offer strong World Bank support to the Government of Indonesia, should it be required, to supplement rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in the disaster-affected areas of Sulawesi and Lombok. Following the meeting, Ms. Georgieva made the following statement.
“I am pleased to have met His Excellency Vice President Kalla today, and I thank him for the hospitality of his government and citizens, and for their warm welcome and gracious hosting of the World Bank’s Annual Meetings. We applaud the fast and robust response of President Widodo and Vice President Kalla to the earthquake and tsunami that affected Sulawesi, and the series of earthquakes that struck Lombok beginning in July of this year.
“On behalf of the World Bank Group, I would like to offer our deepest condolences to you and your fellow Indonesians for the great loss you have suffered following the devastating events in Lombok and Sulawesi. Our thoughts are with those who lost their lives, the survivors, and the families and loved ones of all those affected.”
“At our meeting today, I reaffirmed to Vice President Kalla that the World Bank is standing by the Government of Indonesia, together with the whole multilateral and international community, as the country faces this tragedy. Indonesia is a resilient nation with deep experience and expertise in managing natural disaster preparedness, financing, and response, and we are proud of our longstanding partnership with Indonesia in this area. We are ready to expand our support with immediate effect to bolster our work to build resilience and ensure Indonesia maintains its positive economic trajectory.
“I am pleased to offer our immediate and strong support to the Government, should it be required. This support is available at the Government’s request.”
“Today, as the fourth most populous country in the world - and now a middle-income country - Indonesia has enjoyed strong economic growth and is making significant advancements with poverty eradication efforts. We congratulate the Government on its achievements in its growth and development, and we are committed to ensuring that Indonesia continues its upward economic path.”
The proposed support could include:
- Immediate augmentation of existing social protection programs to help those most directly affected in Sulawesi.
- A new standalone emergency recovery program to rebuild critical public facilities and infrastructure assets, including hospitals, schools, bridges, roads, highways, water supply infrastructure, and strengthen monitoring and early warning systems.
- Financing for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of housing settlements and neighborhood‑level infrastructure and services.
- A technical assistance program to underpin and guide the response.
About the World Bank’s partnership with Indonesia
The World Bank’s deep and productive partnership with Indonesia dates back to 1954. Over the past three years, we have committed to 18 projects to covering social assistance, primary health care and nutrition and early childhood development. Our partnership is particularly focused on supporting the development of Indonesia’s human capital and in the implementation of the government’s ambitious National Strategy for Stunting Prevention.
Following the 2004 Tsunami, the World Bank, along with several global partners, contributed to the recovery and reconstruction efforts in Indonesia by establishing the Multi Donor Fund for Aceh and Nias. This managed around $655 million to rebuild 20,000 earthquake-resistant homes, 3,850 km of roads, 1,600 km of irrigation canals, 677 schools, 500 town halls, 72 clinics, 8,000 wells and clean water sources, as well as more than 1200 sanitation units, among others.
The World Bank has already completed a preliminary rapid damage assessment of the economic impacts of direct damage from the Central Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami. This is the first input towards supporting the Government of Indonesia’s recovery and reconstruction planning. It is based on an open loss modeling methodology developed by the World Bank Disaster Risk and Resilience Analytics and Solutions (D-RAS) team, that is used in conjunction with analysis of satellite and other ground collected images. The aim of the assessment is to develop preliminary estimates that may inform the reconstruction planning process by looking at the distribution of damage across key sectors to differentiate levels of impact geographically. Sectoral impacts could then be further refined using ground-collected information.
About the World Bank and Disaster Risk Recovery and Preparedness
Disasters hurt the poor and vulnerable the most. Over the past decade, the World Bank has emerged as the global leader in disaster risk management, supporting client countries to assess exposure to hazards and address disaster risks.
Mainstreaming disaster risk management into development planning can reverse the current trend of rising disaster impact. Furthermore, when countries rebuild stronger, faster and more inclusively after disasters, they can reduce the impact on people’s livelihoods and well-being by as much as 31%, potentially cutting global average losses.
If countries act decisively, they can save lives and assets. However, many developing countries lack the tools, expertise, and instruments to factor the potential impacts of disasters into their investment decisions.
