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

'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.