Quarterly Progress Report: SERASI Program January-March 2011

The program's sectoral concentrations include Health, Education, and Democratization and Governance. The program's work in the Papua Region is centered on addressing health issues such as Maternal and Child Health, HIV/AIDS, and Tuberculosis, as well as promoting basic education and democratization and governance. During the January-March 2011 reporting period, the SERASI Program underwent significant changes, including the closure of its offices in Banda Aceh and Palu, which marked the end of all grant activities in Aceh, Central Sulawesi, Maluku, and Maluku Utara. The majority of staff in these offices transitioned to other opportunities or positions in SERASI Year Four. The closure of Aceh programming marked a shift in the program's focus towards the east of the country, with a renewed emphasis on the Papua Region. The program's work in Papua is centered on promoting health, education, and democratization and governance, with a focus on Special Autonomy (OTSUS) implementation and the cultivation of new leaders. The reporting period also saw the assembly of a new USAID/SERASI team, comprising a team leader and activity managers from the fields of education and health. The program undertook research and meetings at the Jakarta level with past and potential grantees to explore opportunities for work on interfaith and tolerance issues and Papua issues at the national level. A major recruitment drive was undertaken to identify and hire grant officers, finance staff, and program officers, including technical specialists in health and education. A general program officer was dispatched to Papua to serve as the first SERASI representative on site in Jayapura, to start up the office, identify grantees, and begin the process of developing grants. The program's performance monitoring plan (PMP) was updated as of March 31, 2011, and media coverage for SERASI-managed special events was also documented. The program's success stories from January-March 2011 were compiled and presented in Annex C of the report. The SERASI Program's work in the Papua Region is critical to addressing the region's development challenges, including health disparities, limited access to education, and inadequate democratization and governance. The program's focus on promoting health, education, and democratization and governance is essential to improving the lives of the people in the Papua Region and contributing to the overall development of Indonesia.