Indonesia rice subsidy program improves childrens health

Published: April 19, 2018, 11:10 p.m.

b'Hundreds of thousands of children in Indonesia are growing taller and heavier thanks to the government\\u2019s rice subsidy program, which ensures better nutrition despite flaws in the scheme.\\n\\nThe government started RASKIN\\u2014rice for the poor\\u2014in 1998 to help poor and near-poor families cope with high food prices in the wake of the Asian financial crisis.\\n\\nUnder the program, currently the largest in-kind subsidy scheme in Indonesia, eligible households across the country receive subsidized rice. \\n\\nRice is a staple food, and accounts for nearly a quarter of the average monthly expenditure of poor households in Indonesia. \\n\\nThe program is expected to fulfill 39.5% of poor households\\u2019 rice needs.\\n\\nRead the transcript\\nhttps://bit.ly/2K2zrq7\\n\\nRead the report\\nhttps://www.adb.org/publications/kind-transfer-and-child-development-evidence-indonesia\\n\\nAbout the authors\\nBihong Huang is an ADBI research fellow\\n\\nPrachi Gupta was an ADBI research associate when the work was published.\\n\\nKnow more about ADBI\\u2019s work on Indonesia\\nhttps://bit.ly/2qNSfjY\\nhttps://bit.ly/2vvX1IA'