'Women don't want to get pregnant at a time like this'

In the aftermath of the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami, problems such as the safe delivery of babies and women's concerns over the possibility of becoming pregnant continue to arise. The United Nation's Population Fund (UNFPA) representative for Indonesia, Bernard Coquelin, talked to The Jakarta Post's Tony Hotland last week about reproductive health in tsunami- affected areas. The following in an excerpt of the interview:

Question: What are UNFPA's main programs in Aceh and North Sumatra following the tsunami?

Answer: The UNFPA mainly focuses on issues of reproductive health and promotion of gender equality, with our main target groups being married couples and pregnant women. Our emergency programs include the re-establishment of reproductive health services, provision of personal hygiene packs to women and girls in refugee camps, provision of mental health services through psycho-social support centers, and also the prevention and management of gender-based violence. More than 40 days after the tragedy, what is UNFPA's general assessment of conditions in Aceh and North Sumatra, particularly regarding reproductive health?

The availability and accessibility of reproductive health facilities are naturally improving compared to the first two weeks after the tragedy. We're trying to ensure that issues of personal hygiene and safe baby deliveries are properly addressed. We are expecting approximately 820 deliveries monthly in Banda Aceh. In normal conditions, pregnancy-related complications are at 15 percent of the total number of pregnancies, but in the situation we're experiencing now, that figure could go up to 25 percent.

We were in Aceh and had information of pregnant women delivering babies with no adequate treatment and they ended up losing their newborns. This is where we come in. We are here to assist so that experts, non-governmental organizations, the provincial health agency and the Ministry of Health can take care of these issues.

We'll provide equipment, training and even additional human resources. Health facilities were destroyed. The Indonesian Midwives Association reported that 30 percent of its 5,500 staff in Aceh were missing or killed. Some who survived are in a state of stress or trauma and cannot perform their jobs.

And in an emergency situation like this, the government cares more about communicable diseases, water sanitation, which are extremely important, but pregnant women are also of the same importance. We can't stop deliveries and by drawing attention to this issue we can save lives, right? Generally, the situation is better, but of course we need to improve by sending more midwives, more facilities, and all that.

Do you work with other organizations? In what form?

On top of all, we have a coordination scheme where we report to the Ministry of Health and donors. We mostly work with national NGOs. We provide them with reproductive health kits and help make sure that they're available in as many health centers and hospitals around refugee camps as possible. What's also important is to inform people about these facilities.

You can build a very beautiful hospital, but if people don't know what's inside, they won't use the services. That's how we're working with these organizations to spread information. They also sometimes come to get training because they had never dealt with baby deliveries.

Can you elaborate on these hygiene kits and contraceptive products? And what is UNFPA's commitment to recovery operations?

The hygiene kits include a headscarf, sarong, underwear, a long-sleeved shirt, a prayer mat, shower tools and also sanitary napkins. Many of these women feel that they cannot go outside because they feel naked without the specific shirt and headscarf. It's the custom in Aceh.

After the dire need of food, water ... they wish to go back to their "normal lives". Many women would like to have access to contraceptives because they say they don't want to have a new baby, to get pregnant at a time like this. So we're sending a bulk of contraceptives to Banda Aceh and planning to bring some more to other areas on the western coast after transportation access is available.

The next thing for us is to do what we've been doing in Banda Aceh and in Meulaboh. To do this, we're trying to help reestablish the local Family Planning Board.

The UNFPA plans to commit US$8 million to help support the government's plans in the fields we're focusing on, technically and financially.