Nabire – The Central Papua Provincial Government is making early childhood development a key part of its investment in the quality of human resources among Indigenous Papuans (OAP) through a financial assistance program for toddlers.
Known as the BANGKIT Papua Tengah program, the initiative provides Rp350,000 per month to OAP children from birth to four years of age. The assistance is intended to support nutritional needs, complementary food, vitamins, and early childhood education expenses.
In its initial phase, the program targets around 4,000 toddlers across four regencies: Intan Jaya, Puncak Jaya, Paniai, and Dogiyai, with approximately 1,000 beneficiaries allocated to each regency.
Central Papua Governor Meki Nawipa said the assistance reflects the provincial government’s commitment to developing the OAP generation from an early age. He emphasized that meeting children’s nutritional and basic needs is an important foundation for improving the quality of Papua’s human resources in the future.
The Central Papua Provincial Government also plans to expand the program to four additional regencies. With the expansion, the number of beneficiaries is expected to reach approximately 8,000 toddlers across Central Papua.
In addition to meeting children’s basic needs, the program is expected to ease the economic burden on families while strengthening social protection for OAP communities.
The Central Papua Provincial Government considers investment in human development to involve more than infrastructure development. It also includes ensuring access to basic needs, healthcare, nutrition, and education from the earliest stages of a child’s growth.
