USAID/BHA Komunitas Perkotaan Untuk Aksi Tangguh (KUAT)

The Urban Communities for Resilient Action (KUAT) project aims to reduce the devastating impacts of earthquakes, flooding, and other natural disasters on the lives and livelihoods of over 500,000 vulnerable residents in the Greater Jakarta metropolitan region of Indonesia.

Implemented by a consortium of trusted partners with decades of on-the-ground experience, the 3-year, $5 million USAID-funded initiative takes an integrated approach to empower communities to confront hazards, quickly recover, and build back better after disaster events through five key program areas:

1. Raising disaster risk awareness and mobilizing communities for action through local forums, disaster simulations, risk assessments, preparedness planning, private sector engagement, and public outreach campaigns.

2. Conducting specialized capacity building trainings for local governments, communities, households, businesses, response personnel, engineers, construction crews, and micro-enterprises on contingency planning, emergency response, risk reduction measures, and more.

3. Supporting the integration of disaster resilience into local development plans and budgeting and providing technical guidance on critical frameworks and standards for preparedness and response.

4. Assessing housing risks, training builders on structural upgrades to strengthen vulnerable homes, and helping villages install early warning networks to protect residents.

5. Establishing inclusive financial tools like village savings groups to boost economic resilience while linking communities, especially women entrepreneurs, to critical financial and insurance services through digital platforms.

By taking a “whole of community” approach, KUAT aims to create an integrated safety net enabling Indonesia’s capital region to effectively confront natural disasters for generations to come.