CONTEXT
• Indonesia is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world and experiences frequent drought, earthquakes, flooding, landslides, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. Spread across 6,000 inhabited islands, communities in Indonesia face numerous natural hazards that can adversely affect food security, livelihoods, and nutrition among vulnerable populations, particularly adolescent girls and pregnant and lactating women, the UN World Food Program (WFP) reports. In addition to natural disasters, global economic inflation, long-term environmental degradation, and rapid urbanization further exacerbate households’ vulnerabilities.
• Indonesia remains highly susceptible to seismic activity, including volcanic eruptions, due to its location along the Pacific Ring of Fire. Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki Volcano—located in East Nusa Tenggara Province— experienced multiple eruptions in 2024, including increased volcanic activity between December 2023 and January 2024, affecting nearly 16,300 people in East Flores Regency.
• Additional recent disasters include heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding in western Indonesia’s Sunda Islands, which affected nearly 7,500 people in October 2024; flooding across Central Java Province’s northern coast, which affected more than 440,000 people in ten districts and displaced nearly 21,000 people in Demak town in March; and wildfires in 2023 across areas of Central Java, East Java, and South Sumatra provinces, as well as Kalimantan Region, which affected nearly 10 million children by pervasive air pollution.