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Indonesia

Indonesia: Direct Relief's programme activities update Aug 2006

Recipient: International Relief & Development
Shipment Number: 5085
Shipment Date: 8/15/2006
Value: $22,776

It is estimated that the tsunami of December 26, 2004 killed over 130,000 and displaced over 500,000 Indonesians on the island of Sumatra. In response to this horrific disaster, Direct Relief is providing both material and financial assistance to in-country social service organizations, as well as U.S.-based and international nonprofits, working to provide medical services to tsunami survivors, prevent outbreaks of disease, and rebuild the severely damaged healthcare infrastructure of Aceh Province. One of Direct Relief's partners is International Relief and Development, a U.S.-based NGO with years of experience in coordinating and supporting health-related activities in Indonesia.

This shipment, the fifth in support of IRD's medical assistance initiatives since the tsunami, included items specifically requested from various health facilities and programs in Medan, Nias, and Aceh Province. The pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, and diagnostic and respiratory equipment items will support permanent and mobile health facilities that are serving tsunami-affected populations. The companies that made this shipment possible include Bristol-Myers Squibb, McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharms, and Medvantx.

Recipient: Muhammadiyah
Shipment Number: 5348
Shipment Date: 8/23/2006
Value: $259,444

On May 27, 2006, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Central Java, Indonesia killing over 6,000 people and leaving hundreds of thousands injured or homeless. The hardest hit area was the city of Yogyakarta with the heaviest reported damage in the city's southern Bantul district. The hospital closest to the epicenter was Bantul Muhammadiyah Hospital, one of the over 300 medical facilities that make up the Muhammadiyah national healthcare network. Muhammadiyah is Indonesia's largest nongovernmental organization and administers a vast network of hospitals, clinics, and educational and social programs throughout Indonesia. Dr. Sudibyo Markus, Chairman of the Disaster Committee for Muhammadiyah, visited Direct Relief's California-based headquarters in April to discuss the medical assistance that had been received for Aceh Province in response to the tsunami. Following the earthquake in Java, he reported that the Bantul Muhammadiyah Hospital was functioning and providing services, but that it was stretched beyond capacity. Two of the delivery rooms had been converted to operating theaters, and orthopedic surgeons had been deployed from the Indonesian government and other Muhammadiyah hospitals to assist with the surge of trauma cases.

In response to Muhammadiyah's specific request for assistance, Direct Relief airlifted an emergency medical shipment consisting of surgical kits and supplies, wound-care products, anti-infective agents, analgesics, local anesthetics, antibiotic creams, and nutritional products for use in their hospital in Bantul and the eight field clinics that they have established in the affected area.

Recipient: Australian Aid International
Shipment Number: 5340
Shipment Date: 8/22/2006
Value: $23,190

On the 27th of May 27, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake occurred in Jogjakarta on the Indonesian island of Java killing an estimated 6,000 people, injuring about 50,000, and displacing more than 200,000. No tsunami was generated. The earthquake was followed by hundreds of aftershocks and the affected area was near the Mount Merapi volcano, which has been on heightened alert.

When the earthquake struck Java, Australian Aid International (AAI) medic Dave Fuller was at his home in Western Java and immediately traveled to the epicenter setting up a headquarters. Within days the full team had flown in from Australia and was in-country helping evacuate people. The affected villages around Jogja are all connected by one single lane road that acts as the major artery coming and going. This main road quickly became gridlocked with traffic as concerned family members and aid workers scrambled to get to these areas. AAI immediately found out that there was a local University Motorcycle Club that was willing to help transport their medical staff in and transfer patients out. The motorcycles avoided the traffic jams because of their size and maneuverability. A few days after the quake a local newspaper took a photo of this peculiar team, which was used on the front page of the newspaper the next day.

AAI is an international non-profit organization which aims to help improve health care systems in some of the most remote and dangerous regions around the world. By promoting partnerships with local communities, capacity building of existing infrastructures and by proving other humanitarian aid initiatives, AAI focuses on underserved and vulnerable individuals and populations that may not ordinarily enjoy assistance from governments or other international organizations. They are a small group of experienced first responders who met years ago while volunteering for International Medical Corps, an organization that responds to natural disasters and civil unrest. These talented humanitarians formed a small relief group after twelve years of volunteer service with IMC. They strive to provide more effective relief organization with less bureaucratic intervention. In 2005 they founded their own small relief Non Governmental Organization--Australian Aid International.