Accelerating Disaster Victim Recovery: Standardised Public Kitchens a Priority

The critical period following a natural disaster does not end merely when emergency tents are erected and logistics are fulfilled. A long-term challenge that often escapes attention is the threat of malnutrition in toddlers due to limited access to healthy food and the risk of incorrect nutritional intake.

In emergency situations, education targeting grassroots groups has proven to be the most effective public health intervention. This movement serves as the first line of defence to prevent a surge in stuggling stunting rates and a decline in the nutritional status of children in disaster-affected areas.

Addressing this challenge, the Abhipraya Insan Cendekia Indonesia Foundation (YAICI), alongside its partners, is responding to the post-disaster situations in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra through the distribution of aid and community education. Between January and May 2026, the foundation reached 375 families across three affected regions, including the isolated villages of Batang Ara, Pematang Durian, and Serba, which are rarely reached by logistical aid.

In a public report regarding activities in these three disaster locations on Tuesday, 9 June 2026, the Secretary General of YAICI, Satria Yudistria, presented several concerning findings from the field that underscore the importance of this intervention.

“The fact is on the ground, particularly in Kampung Batang Ara (Aceh Tamiang), limited access has forced children under three years old to consume rice water (air tajin) as a substitute for milk. Additionally, children are experiencing invisible psychological trauma; they become fearful when seeing rain or water, which leads to disrupted eating patterns. Children are the most vulnerable group, not only during the disaster itself but precisely during the recovery period when aid begins to dwindle,” he stated on Tuesday, 9 June 2026.

Through this programme, the foundation and its partners are implementing a comprehensive recovery approach, ranging from trauma healing and the distribution of toys to restore psychosocial well-being, to group discussions with mothers and family nutritional literacy education.

This humanitarian movement is strengthened by the massive role of the PP Aisyiyah Health Council through the deployment of local cadres who serve as the spearhead on the ground. The Vice Chairperson of the PP Aisyiyah Health Council, Dra. Chairunnable, M.Kes., revealed that cadres are conducting door-to-door tracking, scouring evacuation centres and even cramped temporary shelters (Huntara) measuring 4x6 metres to register affected pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and toddlers to ensure nutritional interventions are accurately targeted.

Recognising that people in evacuation centres are accustomed to consuming instant foods and condensed milk—which is often mistakenly regarded as growth milk—Aisyiyah cadres are intervening directly.

“We gather mothers in prayer rooms, schools, and even in palm oil plantation areas due to the lack of facilities. There, we educate them on the concept of Balanced Nutrition or ‘Isi Piringku’ (My Plate), distribute nutritious local foods such as boiled eggs and mung bean porridge, and teach children how to correctly prepare and drink growth milk together. This is vital to shift children’s consumption away from high-sugar intake,” explained Chairunnisa.