Aid packages from multiple parties are flowing into the remote regions of Asmat regency in Papua province.
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JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Aid packages from multiple parties are flowing into the remote regions of Asmat regency in Papua province, where children are suffering from measles and malnutrition in a health crisis. Aid from the Social Affairs Ministry, the Papua Health Office, the Surabaya administration and the Indonesian Military (TNI) are among those that have arrived.
Food aid from the Social Affairs Ministry was sent on Sunday night (14/1/2018) from Jakarta, with part of the aid arriving in Asmat on Sunday night (15/1), Papua time. The ministry’s director general for social welfare and security, Harry Hikmat, said on Monday that the aid consisted of 16,000 canned ready meals worth Rp 724.16 million.
“From a warehouse in Bekasi, the aid was delivered by air from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. Alhamdulillah [Praise God], [the aid] has arrived and is ready for distribution,” Harry said. The 16,000 canned meals have arrived in Timika, of which 1,920 were sent to Asmat on Monday.
Harry added that the Papua provincial administration’s warehouse also distributed aid by air through Timika. The aid includes 3 tons of rice, 200 blankets, 200 mattresses, two family-sized tents and 50 packages of food aid. The aid arrived in Timika on Monday night and will be distributed to Asmat on Tuesday.
Harry said that local produce, such as yams, would be purchased from nearby regencies and distributed to Asmat.
Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa said that a ministerial team was en route to Asmat. “I am still awaiting updates from them,” Khofifah said.
Asmat Regent Elisa Kambu said that 20 packages of food aid from the Surabaya city administration had also arrived. “Aid from the Social Affairs Ministry and the Papua Health Office consisting of measles vaccines and food have also arrived in Timika,” Elisa said.
Joining hands
Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini said during a Kompas interview on Monday night that she had called on Surabaya city officials to respond immediately in providing aid for the children suffering from malnutrition and measles in Asmat.
“We need to join hands and help them together. Indonesia is not a poor country,” Risma said, adding that she had experience in helping others in need in a number of regions.
“I simply contact the local regional head and ask what they need. Bread, biscuits, milk. We will prepare everything and send them on Garuda Indonesia planes. The Timika Regent himself will collect the aid from Surabaya,” she said.
The TNI has sent a 53-strong medical team dubbed the TNI Health Emergency Task Force. “[On Monday], the Asmat Health Emergency Task Force departs for Papua on an A-1236 Hercules aircraft from Halim Perdanakusuma airbase,” TNI spokesperson Maj. Gen. M Sabrar Fadhilah said.
The TNI’s emergency task force consists of medical specialists and paramedics. They are also bringing the necessary medicines to Asmat, prioritizing measles and diphtheria vaccines as well as medical equipment. The Health Ministry has provided the medicines the task force is taking to Papua. “The Asmat Health Emergency Task Force is also bringing logistics in the form of 11,000 packaged ready meals to help Asmat people suffering from measles and malnutrition health emergency,” Fadhilah said.
He added that the task force was established under the direct order of President Joko Widodo through TNI Commander Air Chief Marshal Hadji Tjahjanto. Operations assistant to the Commander Maj. Gen. Lodewyk Pusung was assigned to coordinate the task force’s departure.
Emaciated
Kompas observed at the supporting community health center (puskesmas) in Sawa hamlet, Sawa Erma district, at 11 a.m. Papua time on Monday (15/1) that many pregnant and breastfeeding women were emaciated.
Twenty-four pregnant and breastfeeding women were being weighed and their upper arms measured. The results showed that 21 women, or around 90 percent, were suffering from malnutrition, as indicated by the circumference of their upper arm that measured less than 23.5 centimeters. Healthcare officers from the Sawa Erma Puskesmas also found 14 children under the age of 5 suffering from malnutrition. Sawa is among the 12 hamlets in Sawa Erma district, which is a 90-minute journey by boat from the Asmat capital of Agats.
The conditions observed in Sawa Erma on Saturday (13/1) were similar to those of a number of hamlets in Pulau Tiga district, including As, Atat and Kappi. Dozens of pregnant and breastfeeding women in the three hamlets were in a frail condition.
Sawa Erma Puskesmas midwife Tuti Handayani said that each of 21 Sawa women weighed only between 30 kilograms and 40 kilograms, despite their heights ranging from 150 centimeters to 160 centimeters.
The women were suffering from malnutrition due to irregular meals, inadequate nutrition and a habit of drinking raw water, which exposed them to the risk of dysentery. “They are often hungry, leading to gastritis and malaria. They are also prone to respiratory tract infections, as they typically cook and sleep in the same room,” Tuti said.
Asmat Regent Elisa Kambu said during an interview in Agats that 63 children had died from measles and malnutrition as of Monday. The highest number of deaths occurred in Pulau Tiga district, with 37 deaths.
“Every family suffering from malnutrition will receive food aid from us,” Elisa said, adding that he had requested the Health Ministry to prioritize Asmat in its distribution of medical professionals to remote regions.
The Health Ministry’s human resources development and empowerment head, Usman Sumantri, said that the shortage of medical professionals in Papua, at puskesmas primary healthcare facilities and at hospitals, would be resolved following the health emergency in Asmat.
Medical professionals would be appointed in late March 2018through the Nusantara Sehat (Healthy Archipelago) program.