Rebuilding Family Planning Programs in Post-Tsunami Aceh
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A mother and child in Aceh, Indonesia. This child was born at International Hospital in Long Raya, following the tsunami. Source: © 2005 CCP, Courtesy of Photoshare |
The December 2004 Asian tsunami not only claimed countless lives and destroyed countless homes and communities, it devastated infrastructure, communications, and other basic systems that support life and livelihoods.
The March 2006 Partnerships in family planning and reproductive health focusing on the Aceh Province described the terrible destruction in the context of attempting to resume some form of health care, including family planning (FP) services, to the people.
Three weeks after the tsunami, USAID, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and other donors began receiving the reports about serious contraceptive shortages throughout the province. Agencies started working together to fill the urgent requests of couples living in barracks and tents. The USAID-funded Sustaining Technical Achievements in Reproductive Health (STARH) and Family Planning program arranged emergency shipments of nearly 12 tons of contraceptive supplies to the area. USAID provided additional support to STARH to help re-establish the distribution system for contraceptives; to keep up the flow of information and health messages about FP as well as the free services offered by the government; to revitalize the provincial FP infrastructure; to train midwives in infection prevention; and much more.
With the almost total destruction of communications, STARH tapped into the same informal ways to spread the news and gather information that the people were using – the mosques. Religious leaders were trained in reproductive and other health issues, and the people turned to them for information.
Though many challenges remain, Aceh is slowly recovering from the greatest natural disaster in recorded history.
Read more on USAID’s family planning work in Indonesia
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