Survey: Vulnerable Indonesian families face far more challenges

Still struggling: A farmer works on his field as Mount Merapi spews thin smoke in the air in Sleman in Yogyakarta. The bottom quintile of households have only recovered 15% of their income this year from a 37% drop in 2020. — AFP

JAKARTA: A recent survey has sounded the alarm bell about inequality in Indonesia’s road to recovery, as vulnerable families, including households with disabled members or those that are led by women, are facing tougher challenges to bounce back from the pandemic compared with more well-off families.

The survey interviewed close to 11,000 households of different economic conditions nationwide in February and March of this year, when the country was still reeling from an Omicron-fuelled third wave of infections.