Written by: Fauziah Nadya Ariesta, Achmad Khadafi
External Events – FPCI Chapter UI Board of 2025
On 3rd of November 2025, members of FPCI Chapter Universitas Indonesia visited the World Bank in Jakarta for the FPCI Chapter UI Diplomatic Visit 2025 event.
About the Diplomatic Visit Program
FPCI Chapter UI Diplomatic Visit 2025 is an External Events program that offers members direct learning opportunities from diplomatic and foreign policy institutions. The program aims to deepen understanding of institutional roles, foster discussions on current international issues, and has previously visited institutions such as Kemenpora, Kemlu, and the UN Resident Coordinator Office. This year’s visit to the World Bank Indonesia expanded members’ knowledge on global development practices, with a focus on strengthening health systems, food security, and resilience.
What Happened at Diplomatic Visit 2025?
This year, the program adopts the theme “Beyond Borders: Strengthening Health and Food Security in Indonesia with the World Bank for Global Resilience”. Guided by this theme, the program provides FPCI Chapter UI members with the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of World Bank Indonesia’s roles in the landscape of international relations through a presentation from the experts from World Bank Indonesia. There was also a trivia quiz from the World Bank to assess how well the material presented by the experts was understood. Through this program, FPCI Chapter UI members developed a stronger understanding of how the World Bank supports Indonesia in advancing health and food security initiatives that contribute to both national progress and global resilience.
What Insights Did the Discussion Yield?
With the theme of “Beyond Borders: Strengthening Health and Food Security in Indonesia for Global Resilience,” the World Bank helps countries build resilience, strengthen institutions, and achieve sustainable and inclusive economic growth. Three key topics were highlighted in today’s dialogues: (1) strengthening poverty reduction, health, and nutrition systems as foundations for inclusive development and human capital building; (2) addressing interconnected challenges of health security and food resilience;and (3) Leveraging global partnerships to align Indonesia’s 2045 vision with long-term sustainable growth. These topics were presented by knowledgeable speakers who are experts in their respective fields: Ms. Tyagita Silka Hapsari, Mr. Vikas Choudhary, and Ms. Yulia Nur Izati.
1. Introduction to the World Bank Group; “Creating a World Free of Poverty on a Liveable Planet”
The World Bank Group (WBG) is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries, driven by the vision of creating a world free of poverty on a livable planet and the mission to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. To achieve this, the WBG is dedicated to building a better bank that is more inclusive, resilient to global shocks like climate crises and pandemics, and sustainable through job creation and human development. Structurally, the WBG comprises five working institutions: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), International Development Association (IDA), International Finance Corporations (IFC), Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), all of which collaborate to promote sustainable development. Historically, the WBG’s mission has evolved significantly over eight decades, shifting from its initial post-WWII focus on reconstruction (1944) to confronting poverty (starting in the late 1960s), and then integrating environmental and ethical agendas (post-1990s). Currently, its priorities are grouped around five core themes: People (human development), Prosperity (economic growth), Planet (climate resilience), Infrastructure, and Digital transformation, all supported by a total financial commitment of $117.5 billion globally across over 170 countries. The WBG measures its success not just by investment, but by tangible results, demonstrated by major achievements such as providing better health services to 381.1 million people, improving education for 305.2 million students, and making 123.2 million people more resilient to climate-related risks. Finally, the WBG ensures transparency and broad access to its work through resources like the Open Knowledge Repository, Open Data platforms, and the WBG Academy.
2. World Bank Support for Food Security in Indonesia (one of the WB’s global priority program and core agenda)
Indonesia’s food security and agricultural sector material details significant progress achieved, outlines persistent challenges encountered, and specifies the key government programs supported by the World Bank Group (WBG). While Indonesia has achieved major strides in food security, particularly in rice production, with output increasing 5.4 times between 1970 and 2020 through policy reforms and yield growth, the nation still faces fundamental challenges regarding productivity, affordability, and sustainability, as well as a need for improved balanced nutrition and dietary diversification compared to regional neighbors. The sector continues to grapple with three interlinked issues; slow income growth among farmers, limited access to finance, and a heavy reliance on rice, which necessitate diversification to align with market demands and climate adaptation. To address these, current government priorities, such as the Asta Cita program, focus on food-water-energy security, downstream processing, and nutritious meals, which are actively supported by WBG-Government engagements. These engagements include value chain development programs such as I-CARE, the Strategic Irrigation Modernization and Urgent Rehabilitation Project (SIMURP) program, as well as analytics on sustainable agricultural transformations. Specifically, the WBG-supported SIMURP program is piloting successful low-carbon rice cultivation methods using efficient fertilizers and improved water management to reduce emissions and increase productivity. Furthermore, the Agri-Connect initiative is crucial for promoting inclusive agricultural growth by linking stakeholders, finance, and markets to boost farmers’ incomes and employment through sustainable and climate-smart value chains.
3. World Bank Supports to Indonesia Health System Transformation Agenda
Indonesia’s health status, marked by both achievements and ongoing challenges, is being addressed by the Ministry of Health (MoH) through comprehensive efforts to strengthen the healthcare system, with support from the World Bank Group (WBG). Indonesia has achieved “momentous gains” in population health over the past two decades (2000–2020), marked by a sharp decrease in infant mortality, a significant rise in life expectancy, and improved Universal Health Coverage (UHC) scores, driven by increasing health spending (from 1.3% of GDP in 2015 to 2.6% in 2021) and a dramatic reduction in out-of-pocket expenditures (down to 28% in 2024). However, significant challenges persist, notably the high maternal mortality rate (177 per 100,000 live births), persistent child undernutrition (19.8% stunting in 2024), Indonesia’s status as the second-largest contributor to the global Tuberculosis (TB) burden, and the rapidly increasing prevalence of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), which account for 76% of deaths. To tackle these issues, the MoH has launched the Health System Transformation Agenda (HSTA), which the WBG supports through several major programs, including the Health Systems Strengthening (HSS) IPF, UHC DPL for implementing the Health Omnibus Law, the I-SPHERE PforR, and National Health Insurance (JKN) for primary care reform. These investments have yielded measurable impacts: stunting prevalence successfully decreased by 11 percentage points between 2018 and 2024 through the Investing in Nutrition and Early Years (INEY) program, demonstrating cross-sectoral commitment; the Health System Strengthening Project improved equity by providing women in rural Sorong access to ultrasound screening for the first time; and the COVID-19 response saw a massive expansion of the national lab network and critical care beds, supported by the establishment of the integrated SATUSEHAT digital platform. Furthermore, the National TB Program, supported by the WBG, has significantly increased new case detection from 50% in 2019 to about 80% in 2024, closing the gap between estimated and notified cases, however, challenges remain in ensuring sustained treatment access for all patients.
Conclusion
The core WBG mission of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity, along with its specific support for Indonesia’s health and nutrition reforms, directly strengthens poverty reduction, health, and nutrition systems as foundations for inclusive development and human capital building. This is demonstrated by Indonesia’s “momentous gains” in UHC and life expectancy, the successful reduction in stunting through the Investing in Nutrition and Early Years program (a key human capital measure), and the MoH’s comprehensive Health System Transformation Agenda (HSTA) supported by the WBG’s UHC DPL and primary care reform efforts. Furthermore, both the food security and health materials explicitly show the WBG addressing the interconnected challenges of health security and food resilience with World Bank support. This is evident in the push for sustainable food systems, farmer income growth, and climate-smart agriculture (SIMURP, Agri-Connect) to enhance food resilience, coupled with investments in pandemic preparedness (e.g., the SATUSEHAT digital platform) and the National TB Program to bolster health security. By embedding these high-impact, sector-specific programs within its global structure, which involves five institutions, global knowledge sharing, and a $117.5 billion commitment across core themes like People and Planet, the WBG is leveraging global partnerships to align Indonesia’s 2045 vision with long-term sustainable growth, ensuring that progress in human capital, climate resilience, and economic prosperity is both measurable and sustained.