WRI Annual Programs Report, January – December 2007

 

Reflections

• The first research design only planned to look at the access and utilization of health services for poor women in five districts. During WRI’s research preparation, the institution learned that some districts to be researched are not representing poor areas. Thus, based on discussion with several experts WRI added the research sites as well as change some of the places so it may collect the data which representing the poor. Further explanation about this can be seen below.

• The interaction of WRI’s activities under different grant may enhance the work implemented under Ford Foundation’s support. During 2007, WRI also trained the multi stakeholders of 15 districts on advocacy to reduce maternal mortality in addition to improve the budget allocation on health services particularly for mother and child. The outputs of this program i.e. budget analysis regarding health services in 15 districts and module on advocacy and on budget analysis, may help WRI achieve its long term goals to improve the condition and position of women in Indonesia.
  

 

Activities/Issues Addressed Identified

A. Operations research in five districts: Mataram (Lombok), Surakarta (Central Java), Kupang (West Timor), Subang (East Java), and Jembrana (Bali) to examine:

• Whether WRI’s gender-sensitive budget allocation tools can produce changes in local policy makers’ attitudes and practices, which would result in concrete budget allocations that open access for women living in poverty to three basic rights: education, health care, and work opportunities (employment);
• Types of existing obstacles that limit women’s ability to emerge from poverty in relation to the three areas above (education, health, and employment);
• Types of supporting program plans, including technical assistance in monitoring gender-sensitive budget allocation, which can improve access to education, health, and employment by minimizing the obstacles mentioned above.

B. Capacity building among internal WRI staff, especially in processing, tabulating, and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data from primary as well as secondary sources such as the Central Bureau of Statistics;

 

C. Comparative study visits to India, Korea, and Brazil

Activities/Issues Addressed

 

A. WRI started its research in April 2007 due to the grant received by this institution in January 2007. In the proposal it was stated that WRI will conduct the research in five districts. In reality, WRI conducted its research in seven districts, namely Surakarta, Jembrana, Indramayu, Lombok Tengah, Sumba Barat, Lampung Utara and Lebak. The reason to collect data in these districts is to get a gender based poverty data at district level to see lack of access to the provision of primary health care, basic education and equal employment opportunity for poor women. In this reporting period WRI’s research is more focusing at the lack access to the provision of primary health care for poor women.

At the moment, the research is on the stage of analyzing the data that being collected in the seven districts. Therefore, WRI had the data regarding access and utilization of health services for poor women in the seven districts.

The data including also facts of budget allocation for health services, particularly in relation to reproductive health, maternal and infant mortality in each of the seven districts. The workshop with multi stakeholders (local policy makers and civil society) to apply WRI’s gender budgeting tools will be conducted in the first quarter of 2008. It is hoped that by conducting during this first quarter, WRI still has time to influence the improvement of budget allocation process to open access to poor women regarding health services in the seven districts. At the moment, data on budget allocation for health services in the seven districts showed only less than 15 % or around 6 – 13% from the total annual budget district (APBD). Whilst, according to the Ministry of Health there is an agreement among head of districts, mayors and governors in Indonesia that budget allocation for health services should minimum 15% of the annual local budget.

B. Data on type of existing obstacle that limit women with regards to health services in the seven districts among others are the little number of skilled health workers, particularly midwives and obstetric genealogists, poor infrastructure (bad transportation services and roads condition), limited tools to provide good health services, the expensive health services that the poor women should pay and unequal distribution of health insurance for the poor.

C. Data on types of supporting program plans from the seven districts showed that most of the subject of the research recommend technical assistance in monitoring gender-sensitive budget allocation, which can improve access to health by minimizing the obstacles mentioned.

D. With regards to the capacity building among internal WRI staff, especially in processing, tabulating, and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data from primary as well as secondary sources such as the Central Bureau of Statistics, is not yet being done since the field research just completed. However, for the initial stage the WRI’s researchers had discussed its research design with the late Dr. Sri Harijati Hatmadji, senior researcher of Demography Institute of the faculty of Economic of the University of Indonesia several times in February and March 2007. WRI’s researchers also discussed several times its research design and initial findings with Besral, staticians and lecturer from the faculty of Public Health of the University of Indonesia since February to November 2007. In order to provide inputs for the data collection and preliminary findings of WRI’s research, the research division had hold five roundtable discussions at the WRI’s office and invited experts on gender and reproductive health issues, i.e. Yanti Muchtar, Ninuk Widyantoro as well as experts on social research from June to November 2007. It is planned that after WRI completed its first draft of processing and tabulating of the data from the seven districts, WRI will confirm its result to senior researcher from the University of Sydney in the first quarter of 2008.

E. The comparative study visits to learn on participatory mechanism in engaging women in politics and their success in increasing budget for women’s empowerment in India will be conducted in March 2008. Whilst, the study visit to Brazil is change to Mexico City. This change due to the discussion of WRI with several organizations and Debby Budlender who suggested WRI to learn with what Fundar, a network of participatory budget and feminist group in Mexico who are successful in increasing the budget for health services to reduce maternal mortality rate. The trip to Mexico is planned to be done in May 2008. With regards to the study to Korea, is being cancelled so WRI may sent more people from WRI to learn to India.

Indicators of Success

• In at least three out of the five districts, local stakeholders restructure their district budget allocation to meet women’s three basic rights to education, health care and equal work opportunity;
• In each of the districts, a set of instruments to monitor and evaluate the results of gender-sensitive budget allocation is available;
• Improved survey and qualitative data collection skills of the WRI staff, confirmed by a senior researcher from the University of Sydney who serves as their mentor;
• Publication and dissemination of research reports, trip reports, and working papers about gender-sensitive allocations through WRI’s website and journals.
• Actual Results to Date
• Indicators stated as point one to three will be achieved at the end of the contract period in August 2008.
• On March 2006, WRI published a compilation of articles under the title of Potret Kemiskinan Perempuan (The Potrayal of Poverty Experienced by Women). In the same year (August 2006), WRI also published Studi Dampak Advokasi Anggaran Berkeadilan Gender di Enam Kabupaten/Kota di Indonesia (The Study on the Impact of Gender Budgeting Advocacy in six districts in Indonesia). On June 2007, WRI published its first English publication, “Decentralization as a Narrative of Opportunity for Women in Indonesia”. This book is written under the mentoring of Professor Gavin Jones of Asian Research Institute of the National University of Singapore and the luxury of sabbatical leaves for Edriana Noerdin and Sita Aripurnami in August to September 2006 with the support of Dr. Meiwita Budiharsana. All of WRI’s publications and reports can be obtained at WRI’s website.

 

Goals Expected Goals to be Achieved
To develop a research agenda that focuses on the impact of decentralization policies on women’s political participation.

Goals Achieved to Date
During the reporting period, WRI to some extend has developed its research agenda that focuses on the impact of decentralization policies on women’s political participation. The data that being collected provided us with the picture of what impact that decentralization has brought towards the daily life of woman, particularly the poor woman. The ability of women to bring forward their needs can be regards also as their attempt to participate politically, since they bargain their position to get better public services and budget allocation. WRI has collected such data during this reporting period focusing on the issue of health services for poor women.

Organizational/Environmental Changes

• The Women Research Institute (WRI) had conducted its Strategic Planning on December 2006 – January 2007. The Strategic Planning was conducted to help the organization to be more focus and productive for the next three years (2007-2009). The results of this program planning can be seen at WRI’s website www.wri.or.id ***