Good News! Health Facilities Affected by Sumatra Floods Recover 99.40 Percent

The health sector is a priority for the Task Force for Accelerating Rehabilitation and Reconstruction (Satgas PRR) in the post-disaster Sumatra region, as it must receive the first attention for recovery. The reason is clear: to prevent a second disaster from flood victims not receiving immediate and adequate health services.

Swift action has been taken from the emergency response phase to the current transitional recovery phase. Satgas PRR records that the health facilities still requiring attention are auxiliary puskesmas, with around 21 units not yet operational as of 2 April 2026.

For government-owned hospitals, there are 130 units in the three affected provinces, consisting of 35 RSUD in Aceh, 57 units in North Sumatra, and 38 units in West Sumatra. Of that number, 87 units were affected by floods, with details of 23 units in Aceh, 35 in North Sumatra, and 29 in West Sumatra. In addition, there were 9 units that temporarily ceased operations, consisting of 8 units in Aceh and 1 unit in North Sumatra. Thanks to swift action and inter-agency collaboration, all 87 hospitals have now returned to 100% operation since 7 January 2026.

The same applies to puskesmas, which are now all operational and able to serve the public. Previously, there were 1,265 puskesmas spread across Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra, with 867 affected by floods. There were even 152 units that completely stopped operating.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin, in his meeting with Commission IX of the DPR on 19 January, revealed that the cessation of operations for 152 puskesmas units was due to those facilities being heavily inundated. The details are 139 units in Aceh, 12 units in North Sumatra, and 1 unit in West Sumatra.

Now, the health facilities that have not yet recovered are 21 auxiliary puskesmas, with details of 12 units in Aceh and 9 in North Sumatra. Although not yet operational, this number shows significant progress, as initially there were 2,522 units affected out of a total of 2,952 pustu in those three provinces.

As of 1 December, the number of non-operational pustu was recorded at 176 units. This means that to date, Satgas’ hard work has successfully reduced the number of non-operational auxiliary puskesmas by around 88%.

This progress in recovering health facilities has received attention from the Minister of Home Affairs and Chairman of Satgas PRR, Tito Karnavian. He stated that the health sector has recovered the fastest compared to other sectors. Satgas PRR will also continue to strive so that there are no more non-operational health facilities.

“I see that health facilities, especially RSUD, are all running the fastest compared to other sectors,” said Tito on 12 March 2026.

In addition to health infrastructure recovery efforts, on 12 March 2026, Satgas PRR Chairman Tito, together with Health Minister Budi, distributed 31 ambulance units and various medical equipment from the private sector to health service facilities in flood- and landslide-affected areas of Sumatra. These ambulances were distributed to 31 health service facilities in 11 regencies and cities, covering Aceh Tamiang Regency with 7 units, North Aceh 6 units, Central Aceh 5 units, Bener Meriah 3 units, Bireuen 3 units, Gayo Lues 2 units, East Aceh 1 unit, Pidie Jaya 1 unit, Medan City 1 unit, Central Tapanuli Regency 1 unit, and Pariaman City 1 unit.

This ambulance assistance is a form of collaboration between Satgas PRR and the private sector that cares about post-disaster recovery efforts. In addition, the Ministry of Health has received approval for an additional budget of Rp529 billion, which will be distributed to the three affected provinces to meet remaining unmet needs.