Flood health policy too complicated
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
It seemed too good to be true. The city administration, which has received sharp criticism for their belated and ill-suited efforts to help flood victims, had announced that all victims could go to any hospital in the capital and receive free medical treatment.
But this required that each patient had to hand over a reference from a doctor on duty at a health post in the temporary shelters for the flood victims. This requirement was not easy to fulfill due to the limited number of doctors and public health posts.
As of Friday the floods that started to hit the capital on Sunday, had affected at least 107,140 families or 384,296 people. Some 21 people have been reported dead and two missing due to the floods.
Head of the Jakarta Health Agency Cholik Masulili admitted that medical facilities or temporary health posts were available only in 70 of the 293 official shelters across the capital.
In spite of the obvious shortage of health posts, he emphasized that the reference was necessary to enable patients to receive free treatment at the hospitals as the city administration would reimburse the treatment costs of flood victims. He claimed that refugee shelters which did not have health posts, would be served by 42 mobile medical teams.
As there were only 265 doctors available, Cholik said he had asked 102 hospitals in the city to deploy doctors and medical workers to bolster the city's medical force.
A number of hospitals which were contacted by The Jakarta Post said they knew nothing about it.
"Yesterday we received a request to provide free treatment for the flood victims. But I have not heard about the request for the deployment of doctors and medical workers," a nurse at St. Carolus Hospital in Central Jakarta said, adding that no flood victims had come to the hospital for free treatment.
A resident of Petamburan, Central Jakarta, complained that there was no medical workers at the elementary school that served as a temporary shelter for hundreds of flood victims.
"Some of us have colds, but I don't see any medical personnel around. I am afraid that our illnesses will get worse ...," Hadijah said.
The lack of clean water supplies and poor sanitation have caused various illness among the people.
A doctor at Tebet Public Health Center, South Jakarta, said on Thursday that in the past two days, at least 200 people had been brought to the center to be treated for diarrhea, influenza, cough, fever, skin problems and several other ailments.
The lack of medical supplies has forced some people to treat themselves using traditional medicine.
Sani, who rented a small boat for flood victims in Teluk Gong area, North Jakarta, said he rubs his body with kerosene before plunging into the water. "Many other people do the same thing. It helps keep us healthy."
In Teluk Gong, the water level reached about one meter.
"The water level is not constant, in the morning, the flood receded, but last night rose again. I am afraid it will also rise again," Sani said on Friday morning.
He had the reason to worry as it rained hard again on Friday night, while the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency had warned that the heavy rain could still occur until the end of February.
On Thursday, floodwaters reached up to six meters in the most severely flooded areas. With heavy rains starting at about midnight, the floods in many areas worsened. Water levels rose here due to heavy downpour in Bogor and Depok.
Residents of Manggarai, South Jakarta, had tried to force open the floodgate of the Ciliwung river, which was tightly guarded by security officers, in order to ease the flood in their area. Later in the afternoon, it was opened but only 20 centimeters, otherwise, water could flood the city's main streets of Jl. Thamrin and Jl. Sudirman, as well as the elite residential area of Menteng, where President Megawati Soekarnoputri and Governor Sutiyoso and many top officials live.
Severe traffic jams occurred in many parts of the city as several roads were closed due to floods. Millions were trapped in their homes or in traffic jams.
Activities in some markets had not yet resumed following the floods. Only some 60 percent of vendors opened their stalls in Jatinegara market, Kramat Jati market and Tanah Abang market.
A similar situation was also seen at some shopping malls around the city, including Plaza Senayan, Pondok Indah Plaza and Blok M Mall.
Meanwhile, hotels around the city are enjoying a windfall as some flood victims choose to stay in hotels. Occupation rates at some hotels rose to up to 90 percent, compared to an average of 40 percent.