The socioeconomic impact of HIV infection could threatens the individual and affected people financial situation. Most people living with HIV are in the productive age. At the same time, the infection disproportionately affects poor families.
Mitigating the socioeconomic impact on affected family of people living with HIV is often overlooked. This was due to current national efforts focus heavily on reducing mortality rates. Therefore, failing to provide adequate social protection for people living with HIV undermines the Indonesian government’s goals of poverty reduction and universal healthcare access.
Indonesia offers several social protection and health insurance schemes:
- Jamkesmas & Jamkesda/Jamkesos: National and local public health insurance for poor communities.
- Specialized Insurance: Schemes like PT Jamsostek (private workers), PT Askes (civil servants), PT Asabri (military/police), and PT Taspen (pensions).
- The Gap: Informal sector workers—the largest segment of Indonesia’s workforce—remain largely uninsured.
International evidence shows that inclusive social protection significantly reduces poverty and improves education and health outcomes for affected households. Although, these existing programs do not explicitly target HIV.
Method
This study aimed to map Indonesia’s social protection schemes, identify the services used by PLHIV, and assess how future policies can better integrate their needs.
The research was conducted across four cities: Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Semarang, and Pontianak.
Data was gathered using a dual approach:
- Secondary Data: Analyzing existing policies, procedures, and literature on Indonesian social protection.
- Primary Data: Conducting in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with 70 informants.
The collected data was analyzed using triangulation to cross-verify insights from multiple sources and ensure accuracy.
Findings
Underutilized potential: Existing social protection and health insurance schemes hold massive potential to buffer PLHIV and their families from financial catastrophe. However, they are not currently tailored to address the specific realities of HIV and AIDS.
The informal sector vulnerability: A significant portion of PLHIV working in the informal sector are completely excluded from both state and private health insurance benefits.
Policy integration is needed: There is a critical, unmet need for a unified social protection policy that explicitly integrates the healthcare and financial needs of PLHIV to prevent them from falling further into poverty.
