ANTARA – Feb 23
The condition of people in the district of Asmat, in Indonesia’s easternmost province of Papua, has continued to improve following an outbreak of measles and problems of malnutrition in the region from September 2017 to early January, said Coordinating Minister for People`s Welfare, Puan Maharani
“We have monitored the condition after the extraordinary case has been improving. Hopefully, it will continue to be better,” she told ANTARA in Papua, Thursday.
Maharani, along with Health Minister Nila Djuwita F. Moeloek, Social Affairs Minister Idrus Marham, Education Minister Muhadjir Effendi, and presidential chief of staff Moeldoko, will visit Asmat to monitor the current condition there and check if all programs have been carried out.
She noted that almost 90 percent of the programs of ministries and institutions concerned had been carried out, including the delivery of aid supplies.
While in the district capital of Agats, Marham distributed Family Hope aid program to mothers, while Effendi distributed the Indonesia Smart Card education subsidy.
Maharani and the entourage also checked a clean water facility in a 200-meter deep well made by the Public Works Ministry, as well as food crops to support a food resilience program carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture.
Regarding the malnutrition problem that has affected children in the district, Maharani remarked that the problem has been tackled well by a health team, adding that only one person was still being treated in a hospital.
“Out of 80 children treated for malnutrition at the RSUD (regional) hospital, only two patients are still there. One of them has been allowed to go home, while the other still requires treatment,” she said.
The health ministry plans to send around 30 more medical personnel to Asmat in the near future.
“The team members from the Nusantara Sehat (healthy archipelago) will be spread to other regions to check on anticipatory measures,” she pointed out.
Regarding education, Effendi has pledged to increase the number of teachers for schools in Asmat.
“The education minister noted that each school must have teachers to assure adequate education for the children,” Maharani stated.
She explained that the mitigation program now being carried out in Asmat could not be completed immediately due to the difficult access to various areas.
“This will continue until the end of the year. Everything that we establish in Asmat will be implemented in stages. We will evaluate it again in the next six months. It is still continuing,” she pointed out.