Jakarta – The Indonesian government has accelerated the distribution of social assistance under the Family Hope Program (Program Keluarga Harapan/PKH) and Non-Cash Food Assistance (Bantuan Pangan Non Tunai/BPNT) at the beginning of 2026 as a strategic measure to strengthen the social protection system for vulnerable communities. This acceleration aims to ensure that assistance reaches beneficiaries more quickly and helps ease the burden of basic household needs amid dynamic economic conditions.
Minister of Social Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Saifullah Yusuf, also known as Gus Ipul, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to speeding up the distribution of these regular social assistance programs.
“The first phase of regular social assistance is planned to begin in February for around 18 million beneficiary families, including PKH and food assistance,” Gus Ipul said.
He further explained that the government has intensified cross-sector coordination to ensure social assistance is distributed in a timely and well-targeted manner. Verification and updating of beneficiary data are still ongoing to ensure that assistance is received by those who are truly eligible.
“We are targeting the simultaneous distribution of social assistance such as PKH and food aid to begin in February. The data verification process continues to ensure accurate targeting,” he explained.
Regarding the distribution mechanism, Gus Ipul noted that social assistance is currently channeled through two main channels: state-owned banks under the Association of State-Owned Banks (Himpunan Bank Milik Negara/Himbara) and PT Pos Indonesia. Meanwhile, the government is still awaiting direction from President Prabowo Subianto regarding the potential distribution of social assistance through the Red and White Village/Urban Ward Cooperatives (Koperasi Desa/Kelurahan Merah Putih).
Meanwhile, Deputy for Cooperative Institutions and Digitalization, Henra Saragih, said that his office is preparing a scheme for distributing social assistance through cooperatives to ensure accountability and accurate targeting.
“PKH, which falls under the Ministry of Social Affairs, is planned in the future to be distributed through cooperatives. We are currently discussing the scheme to ensure that recipients truly meet the established criteria,” Henra said.
The accelerated distribution of PKH and BPNT social assistance is part of the government’s strategy to strengthen social protection, particularly at the beginning of the year when pressure on basic household needs tends to increase. This step is also expected to help maintain social and economic stability for low-income households across Indonesia.
