"Our health partners on the ground have seen and helped children diagnosed with coughs, colds, and skin diseases. There are also concerns about the health of infants who are still staying in inadequate temporary shelters."
JAKARTA, 15 December – Floods and landslides in Indonesia have left children with wide-ranging health challenges and out of school as water levels recede in some parts of Sumatra, Indonesia, while needs remain high, particularly for those living in cut off or remote areas.
In Aceh, where Save the Children was one of the first organisations to respond through partners to the floods, key infrastructure remains down with some villages still inaccessible.
The floods have killed at least 990 people[1], including children, according to Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency.
Fandi Yusuf, Senior Strategic Communications Manager, Save the Children Indonesia, who has been in the affected areas for almost 2 weeks and has seen the devastation firsthand, said:
“Many families are still internally displaced, and some are living in temporary, makeshift shelters. Children are living in open spaces with not much protection, so they’re completely exposed to the elements – to the rain, to the wind and to mosquitoes.
Our health partners on the ground have seen and helped children diagnosed with coughs, colds, and skin diseases. There are also concerns about the health of infants who are still staying in inadequate temporary shelters.
“Save the Children has been responding in the affected areas since late November. In Aceh, through the Geutanyoe Foundation (Yayasan Geutanyoe), our local partner, we’ve been providing essential emergency kits, food supplies, mattresses and medicines and we’ve also set up child-friendly spaces for psychosocial support to help children cope. This means drawing, dancing, singing and playing – activities that will help children to regain a sense of normalcy.
Education has also been disrupted. About a quarter of a million students have had their education disrupted because of floods and landslides. Children in flood affected areas have not attended school for 2 weeks now, and hundreds of schools have been damaged.”
Al Fadhil, Director of the Geutanyo Foundation, Save the Children's local partner on the ground, said accessing remote areas remains a challenge, especially in Central and North Aceh and Bener Meriah. "The only possible access besides walking for hours, is by air."
Save the Children has been working with partners and provincial health bodies to provide health support, health screenings and medicines, reaching about 2,500 people to date.[2]
Save the Children has been working in Indonesia since 1976, responding to major humanitarian disasters like the 2004 tsunami and the 2018 Sulawesi earthquake.
References:
[1,2] Sitrep 12 December: https://share.google/8ONLx2aWEzT0USOIO
Spokepersons
Amy Sawitta Lefevre, Global Media Manager: Asia
Amy.Lefevre@savethechildren.orgOut of hours (BST) contact
media@savethechildren.org.uk
