Indonesia: Humanitarian Assistance Appeal No. 01.25/2000 Situation Report No. 1

Period covered: I January - 31 December 2000
After a slow start, due partly to the National Society’s response to two major disasters, the implementation of community health and disaster preparedness programmes picked up speed, with the launching of a pilot health project and the completion of a comprehensive disaster preparedness services review. Re-organisation of the Society continued and a communications strategy was drawn up. The Delegation laid the groundwork for efforts to assist in setting up a National Society in East Timor. All programmes however were handicapped by funding limitations.

The context

Indonesia is an archipelago of 13,700 islands extending across a distance of 5,000 km. Its more than 200 million population, predominantly rural, is 87% Muslim and made up of numerous ethnic groups. The country continues to be plagued by growing poverty and ethnic, religious and political unrest.

The worsening economic environment has had a number of serious humanitarian consequences. An estimated 40 million people are now considered to be living below the poverty line (World Bank, July 1999). Severely-increased levels of poverty-related vulnerability can now be found throughout the country.

Social and political unrest has increased considerably since the onset of the crisis. Fuelled by the worsening economic situation, tension between transmigrant and indigenous groups erupted into serious communal violence, with hundreds of deaths and tens of thousands displaced, particularly in West Kalimantan and the islands of Maluku province, where migrants have lived for generations. In Aceh, clashes between the army and secessionist groups intensified. East Timor's independence led to violent incidents between pro- and anti-independence groups. These frequent occurrences of internal strife have produced a dramatic increase in the numbers of vulnerable people, particularly among the estimated 343,700 internally displaced (WFP 15 August 1999). In late 2000, up to 200,000 displaced people were living in camps in West Timor. Besides the political and economic uncertainty, Indonesia is under constant threat from a range of natural disasters. With large parts of its territory covering fault lines between tectonic plates, earthquakes are frequent. There is also a high risk of volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, floods, forest fires (leading to the ‘haze’ phenomenon) and landslides; the El Niño effect is thought to be the cause of drought in the east of the country.

Latest events

Although there was steady progress in 2000 in working with the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) to further develop its health, disaster preparedness (DP), institutional development (ID) and information programmes, the process was slowed down by changes in staff within the delegation as well as developments within PMI. Additionally the PMI, with support from the delegation, played a central role in responding to two major earthquakes (Bangaii in Sulawesi and Bengkulu in Sumatra) as well as to numerous landslides brought on by unusually heavy seasonal rains.

Overall, the year brought positive developments within PMI, enhanced relationships between PMI and Red Cross partners and a higher and more positive profile for the National Society in disaster response. The last few months have also been marked by greatly enhanced co-operation between the ICRC, PMI and the Federation, demonstrated in the joint planning of development and disaster preparedness activities. The challenge in 2001 will be to build on this, so that the PMI development process is sustained through longer term support from its partners. In turn, the Federation needs to secure appropriately qualified delegates and to continue to foster relations with partners.

Red Cross/Red Crescent action

Health Programme in East Kalimantan

Many rural communities in Indonesia lack adequate access to public health facilities; primary health care services are still largely insufficient. The PMI has therefore decided, with the assistance of the Federation, to start community based health programmes in several provinces.

Following an assessment in August 2000, the Branches in East Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan were selected to pilot the PMI’s Community Based First Aid (CBFA) Health Programme. However, due to funding constraints, the programme will initially start only in one branch, that of Tarakan. The programme there will serve as a ‘test’, prior to replication in other provinces.

The purpose of the CBFA Health Programme is to improve the health status of the communities through preventive activities, effective diagnosis and initial treatment of the most common diseases. In practice, this means that CBFA Volunteers will be trained and water and sanitation projects developed.

At the beginning of September 2000, the Federation Health Delegate moved to Tarakan. Together with the newly established Field Operational Team (consisting of four members of the PMI Branch) she prepared a Training of Trainers (TOT) programme. The course took place over a period of three months and focused on health assessment, CBFA and teaching skills.

Midway through the course, in early November, the trainers conducted a baseline survey in the three targeted villages, under the guidance of the Field Operational Team and the Health Delegate. A door-to-door survey was carried out and data collected on the main illnesses, the hygiene situation and people’s knowledge about prevention. Since the public health centres have only incomplete baseline data, this new data will be used to measure the impact of the PMI health programme.

In December, the Health Delegate and Field Operational Team guided the CBFA Trainers in drafting a training module for the CBFA Volunteers.

The main activities for January to May 2001 will be:

- Follow-up of Trainers who will train CBFA Volunteers.

- Supervision of construction: water tanks and wash/bath/latrines combined units.

- Preparation and execution of Health Management Training (by the Health Delegate).

Disaster Preparedness

In October, a joint PMI, Federation, ICRC and PNS team prepared a major review of the conflict and disaster preparedness programmes of the National Society.

Following visits to various field locations selected by PMI, the review team sought to identify key issues and formulate recommendations for developing the capacity of PMI at both national and provincial levels to implement effective disaster and conflict preparedness (DP/CP) programmes. A task force, composed of key representatives from the PMI, the Federation and ICRC will be responsible for the continued development of the enhanced DP/CP programme and plans are underway to conduct two pilot projects that adopt a community-based approach.

The report from the review (available upon request from the Federation Secretariat in Geneva) drew the following conclusions:

The PMI has demonstrated particular strengths in disaster response and has the potential to further develop its DP capacity. However, many activities have been ad hoc and the current response focus is reactive, rather than proactive and well planned, and does not always take into account local conditions or the specific needs of vulnerable communities.

If PMI is to become fully operational and implement DP as a core programme according to the Strategic Work Plan (SWP) and Strategy 2010, several key issues need to be addressed. These include: ü A standardised DP/CP Programme -- which includes Community Based Disaster Preparedness -- needs to be developed at all levels of PMI.

• DP/CP approaches need to be planned according to local needs assessments, including hazard/risk mapping and strategies for mitigation and prevention.
• The image and the specific role of the PMI must be clearly identified and made clear to all stakeholders.
• The concept of vulnerable communities, and the special needs of women and children, should be taken into account.
• Human resources, including training and the use of volunteers, should be seen as a key investment for the future of an effective DP programme.
• The organisational structure of the PMI supporting DP programmes needs to be improved and streamlined at all levels.
• Effective management systems, especially for planning, reporting and monitoring, need to be further developed and implemented.
• The sustainability and diversification of funding need to be developed to ensure the long-term viability of programmes.
• Improvements in financial accountability and fiscal management must be demonstrated.

The perception of the PMI is crucial to ensure that all stakeholders recognise and understand the neutrality, independence and impartiality of the National Society, allowing it to carry out its essential work. Improved co-ordination and co-operation between all members of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement will further assist the PMI to undertake the changes needed to make it a more efficient organisation.

The DP programme must include, as a priority, the broader institutional development of the PMI, together with the development of a diversified fund-raising capacity, to provide a sound basis on which to build sustainable and successful programmes.

Finally it is essential to continue to develop all the Core Area services of PMI, so that when conflict is resolved or disaster ended, volunteers can use their skills in other activities and retain their motivation, involvement and commitment to the Red Cross. The disaster preparedness appeal for 2001 was based on this analysis.

Information

In mid-October, at the request of the PMI, the Regional Information Unit held extensive consultations with the PMI´s information department, the Secretary General and the board member in charge of fund-raising. The result of these meetings was a draft communications strategy and working plan for 2001-2002, designed to fit in with the PMI´s five year development plan. This plan has now been adopted by the PMI, but will not be put into practice until an ongoing reorganisation of the Society has been completed.

West Timor

The West Timor programme, established in 1999 to assist local communities impacted by the influx of people from East Timor, continued until August 2000. While PMI teams remain in the area, the Federation delegate was forced to withdraw. Given the challenging situation in West Timor, the future of the programme will be determined after an in-depth evaluation, scheduled to take place when security conditions permit.

East Timor

In July 2000 the Federation commissioned a fact finding mission to investigate the possibility of assisting with the establishment of a Red Cross Society in East Timor. The mission had three objectives:

1. To establish contacts and take action to start work on creating a National Society in East Timor. To ascertain whether the moment is ripe and if there is a positive attitude among the new leadership and their compatriots.

2. To establish an overview and make recommendations regarding areas where the International Federation and its member National Societies can contribute to rehabilitation and the development of the East Timor Society.

3. Make proposals for the strategy and action plan of the International Federation Secretariat.

The Federation has since made a number of visits to the country and the Federation and ICRC have signed a co-operation agreement for East Timor; a full-time Federation Representative will arrive in Dili in March 2001. While the Appeal 2001 outlines plans for East Timor, the Representative will work with a group of East Timorese who have expressed an interest in establishing a National Society to develop a more extensive strategy and plan of action. It is hoped that partners will support this process and subsequent programmes.

Outstanding needs

For most of the second half of 2000 the Delegation has been without a Head of delegation and critically short of funding for institutional development, the delegation’s support structure and, to a lesser extent, disaster preparedness. While a number of partners are expected to use the DP Appeal 2001 document for approaches to their donors, the Federation will shortly recommend using part of the limited balance of funds from recent relief operations (see the final SitReps for the earthquake and landslide operations) to support the Appeal 2001. However, given the limited size of these funds, partners are strongly encouraged to consider the needs in Indonesia as a priority for Federation assistance to Southeast Asia.

Further information on the situation in Indonesia is available in the Appeal 2001 (see Federation website) and will be made available at the regional Partnership Meeting in March 2001 in Phnom Penh.

External relations - Government/UN/NGOs/Media

During this reporting period, frequent and very constructive contacts took place with the main donor missions in Jakarta. Although these focused mainly on the earthquake and landslide emergency appeals, interest was also expressed in the longer term development of PMI. Additionally, discussions have been initiated with the World Bank country office on possible collaboration in the future, and with BP Indonesia on obtaining disaster preparedness funding from its in-country charitable funds.

Contributions

See Annex 1 for details.

Conclusion

The year has been a challenging one for Indonesia and consequently for the Federation and the PMI. Although the Federation progressed slowly in the first half of the year in developing a strategy of support for Indonesia, the latter six months has seen enhanced relations with the ICRC, a comprehensive DP review, the successful implementation of several relief operations and a much clearer strategy for Federation support to the PMI. In 2001, the Federation, with its partners, is committed to strengthening its delegation’s human resources, to developing an inclusive Country Assistance Strategy and to harnessing the necessary resources to enable the National Society to continue to respond to humanitarian needs, as it clearly demonstrated it was able to do in 2000.

Hiroshi Higashiura
Head
Asia and Pacific Department

Peter Rees-Gildea
Head a. i.
Relationship Management Department

Annex 1