This Viewpoint discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Indonesian government's response, on children and young people. By adopting a geographical and socio-spatial analysis the paper discusses the extent to which the response to the crisis has aggravated the detrimental impacts of the emergency on children. We argue that the government's decision to transition to the 'new normal' was premature, endangering marginalized children who have less power, weaker voices, and a lack of access to the necessary resources to protect themselves. The paper focuses on children's vulnerability and inequality during the crisis, and demands careful consideration for the governance of emergency response and recovery policies in the future.

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BackgroundBirth registration provides the basis for population data. Previous studies have examined that collaboration between the health sector and civil registration can help improve birth registration rate. However, there was a little exploration into health workers’ understanding of civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) and their perceived role in it. This study aims to fill this gap by focusing on the perspective of both health personnel in a managerial position and those who are involved in direct service provision to the community. Finally, we discussed the opportunities and challenges to strengthen the birth registration presented by health workers’ diverse views.MethodThis study uses a qualitative approach through semi-structured in-depth interviews with 23 provincial to village health personnel in Pangkajene Kepulauan (Pangkep) district of South Sulawesi province. The participants were selected through consultation with the Department of Planning and the head of the Department of Health at provincial and district level based on the relevance of their position with CRVS. At the frontline level, the informants were identified using a snowballing technique and recommendation from community members.ResultsThis study finds that at the village level, health workers perceive CRVS as important since it supports them in delivering healthcare to community members. They see identification document like birth certificate as crucial for healthcare seekers to access the government’s health insurance and with that, proper and affordable treatment. Some health workers have been facilitating birth registration on a discretionary basis. Local health officials agree that accurate birth data lead to effective planning and financing for healthcare services and insurance. Despite the positive perception of birth registration, the majority of health workers do not want the additional burden for registering births. Health officials, however, are more open to taking some responsibilities.ConclusionThis study concludes that the level of health workers’ understanding and appreciation of the CRVS system provides opportunities to engage them systematically in birth registration. It recommends that institutionalizing health workers’ participation in birth registration must consider their current workload, revision of legal instruments, capacity building plan, and operable linkage with civil registration authority.

This article explores the construction of childhood and parenthood in rural communities in Indonesia based on a series of focus group discussions with service providers, community decision makers, and paraprofessionals; a group that we refer to as “frontline providers”. By examining the providers’ definition of successful children and their perception of factors that could undermine a child’s success, we provide insights into how frontline providers understand the role of parents, and how parenthood is constructed accordingly. We found that the providers’ definition of successful children reflects a strong neoliberal logic and that education is seen as the primary mechanism of such investment, an evolution of the idea of a modern nation under the previous regime that has permeated into an individual assessment. The paternalistic culture has further cemented the tendency among the frontline providers to problematize parents as the main risk factor for children’s educational achievement and to ignore the structural and ecological factors. We traced this paradigm in Indonesia’s educational and child protection policy framework, prompting a myriad of parenting programs that put parents from the underprivileged group as the main subject of intervention. Informed by studies in different countries, we argue that without changes in structural factors, any intervention on parenting will be deemed ineffective.

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