UN steps up reinforcement
UN steps up reinforcement
Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post/Banda Aceh
The United Nations (UN) is stepping up its reinforcement efforts
in response to possible problems that may arise from the scaling
back of foreign military personnel and equipment in tsunami-
stricken Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, and is calling on civilians to
help fill the gap.
The UN's deputy coordinator for humanitarian operations in
Sumatra, Joel Boutroue, said here on Monday that the UN would
send in more helicopters and increase cooperation with the
government to find solutions to transportation and distribution
problems, especially in isolated areas on the western coast.
"We have more civilian helicopters coming. We already have ten
(at the moment) and one or two more in the pipeline. We may go up
to 15 if need be. We believe that with up to 15 helicopters we
should be able to service those population pockets that cannot be
accessed by other means," he said.
Boutroue said that the United Nations' Joint Logistics Center
was also coordinating with the outgoing military forces and
laying out plans for a smooth transition from military to non-
military assets.
"There will still be a need for helicopters to reach isolated
areas, although it will not be on a scale as large as we
previously had. At the same time, we're working with
international forces to reduce dependency on the helicopters
before they withdraw. For example, we can now get to Meulaboh by
ship," he said.
Helicopters have been critical in accelerating relief efforts
to isolated areas that cannot be reached by land transport.
Boutroue said the Indonesian government should also maximize
the deployment of civilians, including locals, at all levels to
make sure that they were also a part of the relief process.
Singapore and Malaysia have started to withdraw their military
personnel and equipment from Aceh, while the U.S. is also
preparing for a scaling down of its military humanitarian
operation in the province.
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare, Alwi Shihab, who
oversees the humanitarian relief operation in Aceh, said that the
emergency situation in tsunami-ravaged areas was almost over and
that it was logical for the foreign military personnel to leave
and to empower civilians instead.
The World Food Program, which on Sunday sent its first ship to
deliver tons of food to Calang, in Aceh Jaya, said it would get
more helicopters to anticipate the gap left by the departing
militaries.
In another development, Boutroue said that rehabilitation
programs for refugees should start focusing more on the
nutritional diversification of food baskets, and upon the
improvement of sanitation and water issues.
A recent quick assessment by the UN in a number of refugee
camps around Banda Aceh revealed that around 13 percent of
children aged under five were currently malnourished due to the
limited variety of food in the baskets.
"The percentage is slightly higher than the national rate of
some 9 percent. While it's not overly worrying, we believe
there's still an urgent need to diversify the food baskets, and
to address the sanitation and water situation as well, because if
you have already reached the borderline level of malnutrition, it
can (lead to the) outbreak of diseases," warned Boutroue.
He said that the limited types of food was due to limited
stocks in many donor countries available at the time of the
disaster, but added that other types of food were now ready to be
distributed to the refugees.
Meanwhile, troops from Japan's largest military deployment
since World War II arrived here on Monday to help tsunami
victims, and also to help improve Japan's own image in a region
wary of its past aggression.
AFP reported that three Japanese navy ships carrying 950 Self-
Defense Force personnel have dropped anchor off Aceh.
"We still see a need for the deployment of the mission,
especially for work in areas such as sanitation and preventing
diseases," a spokesman of the Japanese Embassy said.