Indonesia
Enhancing Community Health in Indonesia
Following initial emergency response and recovery operations for a May 2006 earthquake on the island of Java which killed more than 5,700 people, injured more than 27,000 people and destroyed more than 500 health facilities, most of the health facilities themselves had been rehabilitated. A need still exists, however, to better prepare the local population to prevent and manage injuries and common health problems in both emergency and non-emergency situations. In an effort to address this need, the American Red Cross is working with the Indonesian Red Cross Society (PMI) to increase the knowledge and ability of targeted communities affected by the earthquake to manage basic health and hygiene needs, while also enhancing the capacities of PMI at the local, regional and national levels through community-based health and first aid programs. This program will reach approximately 15,000 people thanks to funding provided from the American Red Cross International Response Fund.
Developing Robust Early Warning Systems in South and Southeast Asia
The American Red Cross is focusing its efforts to meet tremendous needs in a particular niche: effective early warning. This means communities receive warnings of impending danger, understand the messages, and have simple systems in place to alert residents and communicate with local disaster response authorities. Through direct funding to the Asia Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), the American Red Cross is supporting a regional early warning initiative via national Red Cross societies, including the Indonesian Red Cross Society. The goal is for the Red Cross to link highly vulnerable communities to local and national agencies responsible for disaster management. To that end, ADPC is establishing national forums in each country in which government institutions, the national Red Cross society and other organizations regularly meet to share hazard risk information and sectoral response plans and to enhance interagency coordination. The program also includes a “training of trainers” element through which Red Cross volunteers will learn how to develop response plans and educate their communities about disaster risks. Approximately 40,000 people across four countries will benefit from the program, which is funded by the American Red Cross International Response Fund.
Enhancing Disaster Preparedness in South and Southeast Asia
In partnership with the Asia Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), the American Red Cross is working to address disaster vulnerability in South and Southeast Asia through a strategic regional risk reduction program, the Program for Enhancement of Emergency Response (PEER). Through this regional disaster preparedness initiative, the American Red Cross is assisting Red Cross and Red Crescent national societies, including the Indonesian Red Cross Society, and other organizations in nine countries to build community-level first responder capacity in disaster-prone communities, expand the local national society’s first responder capacities by imparting critical response skills, and institutionalize community-based decision-making into wider emergency response systems. This program is funded by the American Red Cross International Response Fund and the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA).
Tsunami Recovery Program
Since the December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, the American Red Cross has been actively helping affected communities recover. Through programs in Kenya, India, Indonesia, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Tanzania and Thailand, we have helped more than 3 million people rebuild their lives. To learn more about how the Red Cross has helped, please visit www.redcross.org/tsunami.
