Ministry of Social Affairs Continues Aid to Earthquake and Social Conflict Victims in North Maluku
Deputy Minister of Social Affairs Agus Jabo Priyono emphasised that the Ministry of Social Affairs has a mandate to assist affected communities both during incidents and afterwards, including the recovery phase.
“If a disaster or social conflict occurs, the Ministry of Social Affairs has the duty to handle or provide aid during the incident and post-incident. So during rehabilitation or reconstruction,” said Agus Jabo in his statement on Tuesday (28/4/2026).
The statement was delivered at the Ministerial Level Meeting (RTM) on Post-Disaster and Post-Social Conflict Handling in North Maluku, held at the Office of the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia (Kemenko PMK).
In its presentation, the Ministry of Social Affairs explained the current conditions of the disaster impacts in the region. The earthquake that occurred on (2/4) caused 772 residents of Batang Dua Subdistrict to evacuate, and damaged several facilities and residents’ homes. Recorded damages include 3 churches and 60 houses lightly damaged, 2 churches and 25 houses moderately damaged, and 1 church and 28 houses severely damaged.
Meanwhile, a social conflict also occurred on 3 April in North Maluku, specifically between residents of Banemo Village and Sibenpopo Village, Patani Barat Subdistrict, Central Halmahera Regency. The incident resulted in 2 fatalities, 1 person with serious injuries, and 5 with minor injuries. Additionally, 84 houses and 1 church were burned, with 629 people affected and 580 evacuating independently to the forest during the clash.
For handling the situation, the Ministry of Social Affairs has distributed aid from two social warehouses, namely the North Maluku Provincial Warehouse and the Ternate Sentra Wasana Bahagia Warehouse. Aid from the provincial warehouse includes 100 mattresses, 50 blankets, 30 kids’ clothing packages, 50 roll-up tents, 2 portable toilets, and 3 multi-purpose family tents.
Meanwhile, from Sentra Wasana Bahagia, the distributed aid consists of 165 mattresses, 480 children’s food packages, 500 ready-to-eat side dish packages, 220 roll-up tents, 750 instant lunch packages, 210 family kits, 104 kids’ clothing packages, 200 blankets, 100 children’s clothing packages, 9 multi-purpose tents, 10 family tents, and 2 portable emergency lights.
In addition to logistical aid, the Ministry of Social Affairs also provides various services to support community recovery, ranging from independent kitchens, evacuation camp environmental services, sanitation facilities, laundry, clean water, places of worship, psychosocial support, to entertainment and health services.
Agus Jabo explained that post-disaster and post-conflict handling is divided into three phases: short-term, medium-term, and long-term. In the short-term phase, the Ministry of Social Affairs focuses on fulfilling basic needs, social support services, verification of victim and damage data, and adding buffer stock logistics if necessary.
He also opened opportunities for local governments to request additional aid if needed.
“So if additional buffer stock logistics are required, please Mr Regent or Madam Governor send proposals to the Ministry of Social Affairs so we can follow up quickly,” he said.
For the medium-term, aid provided includes livelihood guarantees, home furnishings, and heir benefits for vulnerable affected residents. For the long-term, the Ministry of Social Affairs encourages strengthening community-based conflict prevention, including social harmony aid, construction or renovation of places of worship, and strengthening local wisdom through arts equipment support.
The meeting was also attended by several officials, including Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Pratikno, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Djamari Chaniago, Head of BNPB Suharyanto, Head of BIN Muhammad Herindra, Deputy Chief of Police Commissioner General Dedi Prasetyo, North Maluku Governor Sherly Tjoanda, and Central Halmahera Regent Ikram Malan Sangadji.