Trade Minister: Inter-regional coordination meets needs of NTT earthquake victims
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Trade Minister Budi Santoso has confirmed that inter-regional coordination is being maintained to meet the needs of victims of the earthquake in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).
Speaking in Jakarta on Monday, Minister Budi said his ministry is optimising the distribution of staple food stocks from provinces closest to NTT, such as West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) and East Java, so that aid can reach its destination more quickly.
“In NTT we continue to monitor the distribution, so it does not arrive late. We continue to coordinate with the neighbouring provinces, such as NTB or also from Java, because Java has a large supply of eggs. East Java has a large supply of eggs,” he said.
He said this is in line with the Ministry of Trade’s efforts to adjust prices through business matching between regions experiencing supply needs and price gaps for staple goods.
In addition, he said the ministry is also continuing to monitor the need for staple goods and their distribution to disaster-affected areas in cooperation with distributors in the nearest regions, the Directorate General of Domestic Trade of the Ministry of Trade, and local governments.
“We have also coordinated with distributors, especially distributors in other areas of the nearest provinces, in NTB, for example. We have coordinated with business actors to maintain supplies, especially after this disaster in NTT,” said the Trade Minister.
Previously, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 occurred in Nagekeo Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, on Saturday (15/8) at 05.58 WITA.
The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) recorded that 2,403 houses were damaged by the earthquake on the northern side of Flores Island, of which 1,543 suffered heavy damage, 328 moderate damage, and 532 light damage.
A total of 22 educational facilities were damaged and 88 others were affected by the earthquake. Meanwhile, 211 health facilities were affected, including 21 hospitals and 190 community health centres.