Home Affairs Minister Tito Targets Post-Disaster Refugees in Sumatra to Move Out of Tents Before Eid al-Fitr
Minister of Home Affairs (Mendagri) Muhammad Tito Karnavian has set a target for post-disaster refugees in Sumatra to no longer live in tents before Eid al-Fitr. The government is pushing to accelerate the relocation of refugees to temporary housing (huntara) and through the Dana Tunggu Hunian (DTH) scheme so that communities receive more decent accommodation. This was conveyed by Tito in his capacity as Chair of the Task Force for Accelerated Rehabilitation and Reconstruction (PRR) of the Post-Disaster Sumatra, while leading a Ministerial-level Coordination Meeting on accelerating refugee handling, held in hybrid form from the Head Office of the Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri) in Jakarta, on Thursday (5 March 2026).
“I intentionally invited discussions related to the issue of displacement. Especially those still living in tents, because we hope that before Eid al-Fitr there will be no more people living in tents,” he said.
Tito assessed that the continued presence of refugees living in tents into the third month after the disaster is a serious concern for the government. He said a reduction in the number of refugees living in tents is an indicator that the recovery process is progressing.
“So if there are still in tents, this has entered the third month, the third month after late November; it is not appropriate for them to still be in tents,” he added.
According to data from the National Disaster Management Authority (BNPB), the number of refugees in the three affected provinces continues to decline. In West Sumatra Province there are no longer any refugees living in tents. Meanwhile in Aceh Province, refugees are still dispersed across Aceh Utara, Aceh Tamiang, Aceh Timur, Aceh Tengah, Bireuen, Nagan Raya, and Gayo Lues. In North Sumatra Province, refugees are still in South Tapanuli Regency and Central Tapanuli.
“At the core, we see that there are still those in tents, and this is something we need to resolve. We need to find solutions so that they are not in tents,” he added.
The government emphasises the rapid construction of huntara and the disbursement of DTH as the main solution so that affected communities can immediately occupy more decent housing. Coordination between ministries and local governments is seen as the key to accelerating the resolution of refugee housing issues.
The coordination meeting was also attended virtually by several stakeholders, including Public Works Minister Dody Hanggodo, BNPB head Suharyanto, Managing Director of Stakeholder Management and Communications at Badan Pengelola Investasi Daya Anagata Nusantara (Danantara) Rohan Hafas, and Director General of Protection and Social Security at the Ministry of Social Affairs Agus Zainal Arifin.
Indikators include reductions in poverty and stunting, improvements in the Human Development Index, and an increasing number of residents occupying decent housing.
Mendagri Tito Karnavian attended the 2026 Imlek and Cap Go Meh celebrations in Singkawang. He commended the spirit of tolerance and togetherness among multi-ethnic and multi-faith communities.
Tito also noted that of the 52 districts/cities affected by the disaster, 38 are now functioning normally.
According to Mendagri, by-name-by-address data from regency governments is essential.
“This temporary suspension is indeed in accordance with the rules. But the president’s request that the Mendagri directly remove the regents has created a new problem,”