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World: Unheard voices of the disabled in disaster reduction

Source: Jakarta Post Country: Indonesia, World

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Geneva

Arief Wicaksono joyfully performed a pantomime act on what deaf people should do during an earthquake. Jumping and waving his hands back and forth, Arief demonstrated the “duck, cover and hold” method of personal protection.

Along with his two other disabled colleagues, Stephanie Kusuma and Martha Adiningtyas, Arief performed before participants of the Fourth Session of the Global Platform conference on disaster risk reduction hosted by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) in Geneva on Wednesday.

The three were representing Indonesia in a campaign effort to raise awareness among disabled people regarding disaster risk reduction.

“Its important for those with disabilities to have access to information about disaster risk reduction and to protect and evacuate themselves during a disaster,” said Arief, through a sign language interpreter, recently.

Arief, who is struggling to enroll at a university, is also actively engaged in the Yogyakarta-based Deaf Art Community, which aims to help disabled people expand their capacity in communication, education and art performance.

His expertise has brought him to disaster-prone areas such as Ciamis, West Java, to teach the disabled there how to protect themselves during a disaster using visual displays and pantomime performances.

Disabled people may be more at risk during disaster due to cognitive, intellectual or physical impairments. These factors may limit the ability of a person with a disability to access information and/or to act on that information.

A handicapped person, for example, may experience no difficulty relating to general disaster risk reduction information. However, that same individual may face severe barriers in trying to protect themselves during an earthquake.

The World Report on Disability in 2011 found that 15-20 percent of the world’s population was living with a disability. Following the Haiti earthquake in 2010, an estimated 200,000 people were left disabled, according to the UN.

“In times of disaster, disabled people are at significant risk. This risk is increased through limited access to information and services that many of us take for granted,” said ASB Indonesia director Alex Robinson. ASB is Germany’s oldest and largest social welfare organization.

“Through this forum (the Global Platform) we are raising the awareness of the international community to play greater role in the issue,” he said.

Since 2007, ASB has been involved in raising disaster risk reduction awareness in 62 special needs schools and 120 inclusive schools, which partly accept disabled people.

The organization, which helped Arief, Stephanie and Martha attend the Global Platform conference, also works with 6,000 primary schools in Yogyakarta, Klaten in Central Java, Ciamis, and Nias in North Sumatra.

ASB, along with other organizations, is part of the Disability-Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction Network (DIDRRN) for Asia and the Pacific, which was launched at the 5th Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Yogyakarta in October 2012.

The network aims is to secure the active participation and meaningful contribution of disabled persons in disaster risk reduction policy and practice post-2015. It works closely with the UNISDR.

As a follow up to the declaration, disability is being recognized for the first time as a key and important concern at the Global Platform on disaster risk reduction.

The Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) 2005-2015, which become the basis for the Global Platform conference, references vulnerability and highlights the increased vulnerability of certain groups such as children and women.

Reference to disability, however, is poor. Despite the HFA’s focus on risk, the framework does not recognize the increased risk that disabled people face nor the positive contribution that they can make within disaster risk reduction measures.

One of The Global Platform conference’s is aims is to assess the implementation progress of the HFA, which was set up after the tsunami in December 2004. Some 168 countries signed a 10-year plan to make the world safer. The countries have now progressed on to draft the next accord after HFA ends in 2015 during the World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Japan in 2015.

Plans to accommodate the needs of disabled persons are likely to be accommodated in the conference as a high-level dialogue has issued a communiqué that underscored the need to support the most vulnerable, such as children, women and disabled people, to build their resilience in disasters.

“We’re hoping that there will be a commitment from the international community to work toward ensuring the active participation of disabled persons in disaster risk reduction policy and practice,” said Nurul Andriani, a handicap activist from the Yogyakarta-based Disabled People and Child Advocacy Center (Sapda), who also represented Indonesia at the forum.

Categories: Berita Bencana

World: Squeezed: Life in a Time of Food Price Volatility, Year 1 Results

Source: Institute of Development Studies, Oxfam Country: Bangladesh, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Indonesia, Kenya, Pakistan, Viet Nam, World, Zambia

Food prices squeezing poor people and driving social change by stealth

A new era of high and volatile food prices go beyond affecting what people can afford to eat and are causing life-changing shifts in society, experts warn today.

The report, Squeezed*, reveals a global snap-shot of how the failure of wages to keep pace with five years of food price rises is putting a strain on families, communities and society, including increased levels of domestic violence and alcohol and drug abuse. Roles and social needs are changing as women who once remained at home are entering the job market and agricultural jobs are being abandoned for more lucrative jobs in an attempt to afford higher food prices.

The research is from international development agency Oxfam and research charity the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) and is the first of four annual reports which will assess the wider implications of high food prices and volatility in 23 urban and rural communities in ten countries: Bolivia, Guatemala, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Oxfam’s policy researcher Richard King said: “Poor people across the globe are feeling the strain in this era of high and volatile food prices - from the nurses in Zambia who are forced to moonlight as street vendors to make ends meet to low-income households in the UK who are borrowing money, dipping into savings or turning to food banks to have enough to eat.

“The implications of high and volatile food prices go way beyond the dinner table and are driving social change that must be better understood and addressed if communities are going to survive intact.”

Research findings include: · Food safety is a growing concern as families are forced to turn to cheaper, poor quality and sometimes contaminated food to stretch the budget. · Increased migration as people leave rural homes for the city or other countries for more economic opportunities. In Ethiopia, food prices were blamed for people moving to the Middle East, abroad. · Heightened family tensions are revealed in increased incidences of domestic violence, alcohol and drug abuse as men struggle to fulfil their traditional role as the ‘breadwinner’. · Unpredictable profits and higher costs mean a new generation of farmers are turning to riskier occupations, including gold mining in Burkina Faso and jungle fishing in Bangladesh. · Community life is breaking down as families cut back on important community events such as weddings and funerals in an effort to save money. · With the squeeze on family budgets women are entering the waged workforce in ever greater numbers and grandparents and older daughters are forced to step in to help with childcare · Families also report skipping meals, foraging or growing their own food, or turning to hunger recipes such as ‘pantabhat’ (a watery fermented rice dish) in Bangladesh.

The report shows the human cost of high and volatile food prices in a world where one in eight people around the world already go to bed hungry. Oxfam is a member if the 180-member Enough Food For Everyone If coalition, which is calling on G8 leaders meeting next month in Northern Ireland to take action to tackle global hunger.

The ground-breaking research comes in a new era of high and volatile food prices since the global food crisis in 2008. Food prices remain at extremely high and volatile and it is the world’s poorest people, who spend up to 80 per cent of their incomes on food, who are hardest hit.

Naomi Hossain, IDS research fellow, said: “As families increasingly struggle to earn enough to eat we are seeing how money is becoming more important than relationships, to the point that the social implications are potentially alarming. Policy-makers need to catch up.”

Recommendations include improved social protection policies to address the vulnerability of the poorest, including cash transfers or subsidies. Improved management of food reserves and regulation of the international grain trade is also needed, while steps to make agriculture a more credible vocation by investing in training, technology and sustainability should also be taken. Recognition of the need to design and support a growing number of child-carers, particularly grandparents and older daughters, whose health and education may suffer, is also needed.

Categories: Berita Bencana

World: Squeezed: Life in a Time of Food Price Volatility, Year 1 Results

Source: Institute of Development Studies, Oxfam Country: Bangladesh, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Indonesia, Kenya, Pakistan, Viet Nam, World, Zambia

Food prices squeezing poor people and driving social change by stealth

A new era of high and volatile food prices go beyond affecting what people can afford to eat and are causing life-changing shifts in society, experts warn today.

The report, Squeezed*, reveals a global snap-shot of how the failure of wages to keep pace with five years of food price rises is putting a strain on families, communities and society, including increased levels of domestic violence and alcohol and drug abuse. Roles and social needs are changing as women who once remained at home are entering the job market and agricultural jobs are being abandoned for more lucrative jobs in an attempt to afford higher food prices.

The research is from international development agency Oxfam and research charity the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) and is the first of four annual reports which will assess the wider implications of high food prices and volatility in 23 urban and rural communities in ten countries: Bolivia, Guatemala, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Oxfam’s policy researcher Richard King said: “Poor people across the globe are feeling the strain in this era of high and volatile food prices - from the nurses in Zambia who are forced to moonlight as street vendors to make ends meet to low-income households in the UK who are borrowing money, dipping into savings or turning to food banks to have enough to eat.

“The implications of high and volatile food prices go way beyond the dinner table and are driving social change that must be better understood and addressed if communities are going to survive intact.”

Research findings include: · Food safety is a growing concern as families are forced to turn to cheaper, poor quality and sometimes contaminated food to stretch the budget. · Increased migration as people leave rural homes for the city or other countries for more economic opportunities. In Ethiopia, food prices were blamed for people moving to the Middle East, abroad. · Heightened family tensions are revealed in increased incidences of domestic violence, alcohol and drug abuse as men struggle to fulfil their traditional role as the ‘breadwinner’. · Unpredictable profits and higher costs mean a new generation of farmers are turning to riskier occupations, including gold mining in Burkina Faso and jungle fishing in Bangladesh. · Community life is breaking down as families cut back on important community events such as weddings and funerals in an effort to save money. · With the squeeze on family budgets women are entering the waged workforce in ever greater numbers and grandparents and older daughters are forced to step in to help with childcare · Families also report skipping meals, foraging or growing their own food, or turning to hunger recipes such as ‘pantabhat’ (a watery fermented rice dish) in Bangladesh.

The report shows the human cost of high and volatile food prices in a world where one in eight people around the world already go to bed hungry. Oxfam is a member if the 180-member Enough Food For Everyone If coalition, which is calling on G8 leaders meeting next month in Northern Ireland to take action to tackle global hunger.

The ground-breaking research comes in a new era of high and volatile food prices since the global food crisis in 2008. Food prices remain at extremely high and volatile and it is the world’s poorest people, who spend up to 80 per cent of their incomes on food, who are hardest hit.

Naomi Hossain, IDS research fellow, said: “As families increasingly struggle to earn enough to eat we are seeing how money is becoming more important than relationships, to the point that the social implications are potentially alarming. Policy-makers need to catch up.”

Recommendations include improved social protection policies to address the vulnerability of the poorest, including cash transfers or subsidies. Improved management of food reserves and regulation of the international grain trade is also needed, while steps to make agriculture a more credible vocation by investing in training, technology and sustainability should also be taken. Recognition of the need to design and support a growing number of child-carers, particularly grandparents and older daughters, whose health and education may suffer, is also needed.

Categories: Berita Bencana

World: International financing for disaster risk management, The 20-year story (1991-2010)

Source: Overseas Development Institute, GFDRR Country: Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Philippines, Turkey, World

Categories: Berita Bencana

World: Managing acute malnutrition at scale - A review of donor and government financing arrangements (Network Paper Issue 75)

Source: ODI - Humanitarian Practice Network Country: Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Viet Nam, World, Yemen

Introduction

This review is concerned with the financing arrangements for programmes that address acute malnutrition at scale through the community-based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM). The CMAM approach is geared towards the early detection, treatment and counselling of moderately and severely acutely malnourished children, in the community, by community agents.

Until the late 1990s, treatment of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) was through therapeutic feeding centres in hospitals and healthcare centres. Performance was poor, coverage was extremely limited (less than 5% of the SAM population), mortality was often in excess of 30% and recovery rates were low. The CMAM approach was first piloted in Ethiopia in 1999 as an alternative to the centre-based model.
Development of the approach offered the prospect of dramatically increased access to successful treatment and coverage.

CMAM has been adopted in over 65 countries. In 2011, just under two million children under five years of age with SAM were reported as being admitted to CMAM programmes, compared with just over one million in 2009.1 While this large increase partly reflects improved reporting, it is also indicative of the ongoing scaling up of treatment of SAM. Even so, total reported admissions represent just 10–15% of the estimated 20m global SAM cases annually.

Read the full paper

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Myanmar: Asia-Pacific Region 14 - 20 May, 2013, Natural Disasters and Other Events being monitored by the OCHA Regional Office for the Asia-Pacific

Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Country: Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Marshall Islands, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka

1. Bangladesh - Tropical Storm Mahasen struck southern districts on 16 May. The Joint Needs Assessment (JNA) is ongoing and preliminary findings are due to be presented tomorrow (21 May). 17 people have reportedly lost their lives, JNA results will provide a better understand of the impact of the cyclone on shelter and livelihoods.
   Source: PDC, OCHA Flash Update No. 7

2. Myanmar - 120,000 people, mainly IDPs, were relocated in expectation of Tropical Storm Mahasen. Assessments have been conducted in affected areas and the humanitarian community is responding to the identified needs.
   Source: OCHA Flash Update No. 7

3. Sri Lanka - Heavy rain and flooding caused by Tropical Storm Mahasen has killed eight, most in Central Province, and affected nearly 12,000. 150 houses were destroyed. Central and Sabaragamuwa are the worst affected areas.
   Source: OCHA, GoSL

4. China - Flooding and landslides across 10 southern provinces have killed more than 50 people, with at least 16 still missing. Guangdong province has been hardest hit, with nearly 900,000 people affected after days of heavy rain. Media reports indicate that teams of relief workers have been sent to oversee the recovery efforts in the hardest hit areas.
   Source: Media

5. Marshall Islands - Approximately 6,600 people are living in drought affected atolls. Strategic response plans have been developed for the Food Secuiryt, Health, and WASH clusters. Weather forecasts predict that dry conditions will persist in drought affected areas.
   Source: OCHA Sitrep No. 2

6. Papua New Guinea - More than 20,000 people in Southern Highlands Province and an additional 6,000 in Western Highlands Province have been affected by heavy rains. One person has been killed.
   Source: OCHA

7. Solomon Islands - As of 15 May, nearly 5,300 cases of dengue have been reported. Six cases have resulted in death. The outbreak is ongoing, however the number of cases reported last week (442) is the lowest weekly total reported to date. 86% of all reported cases are in Honiara.
   Source: OCHA

8. Indonesia - Approximately 2,800 people were displaced following the eruption of Mt. Rokatenda on 14 May.
   Source: OCHA

Precipitation Forecast - The latest forecasts predict above average levels of precipitation across Indonesia. Less than average rainfall is forecasted throughout most of the South Pacific, particularly Nauru. There is also a chance of less than average rainfall in Myanmar, around Yangon.

Source: IRI

Ongoing Emergencies:
Philippines: Typhoon Bopha Myanmar: Rakhine State Myanmar: Kachin State

Categories: Berita Bencana

World: Asia Pacific Food Situation Update - May 2013

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization Country: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Viet Nam, World

(Extract)

Wheat and rice prices mostly fall around the region

Strong production generally kept domestic prices around the region stable or drove them slightly down for wheat, wheat flour and rice, except in India and Myanmar where government procurement programmes pushed prices higher. Overall, however, prices were mostly higher than at the same time last year, according to FAO’s Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS).

In Afghanistan, prices for wheat and wheat flour were largely unchanged except in Kabul where wheat flour fell by 8 percent. Wheat flour prices also fell by 4 percent in Bangladesh, but rice prices were steady ahead of the next harvest. In Cambodia, an expected record output from the coming second rice harvest put downward pressure on rice prices. China’s rising imports of wheat and Japonica rice kept those prices stable, but meat prices fell by 6 percent. Rice prices in India rose an average of 2 percent mainly because of government support programmes, but wheat prices decline marginally by 1 percent.

The arrival of the second rice harvest weakened rice prices in Indonesia, but as in most countries around the region prices were higher than one year ago. Rice prices rose to record levels in Myanmar partly because of increased exports to Indonesia and government procurement programmes. After months of increases, wheat prices began falling in Pakistan during April on forecasts of a strong harvest. Wheat flour fell by as much as 9 percent, while wheat declined by an average of 4 percent. Prices for rice in the Philippines were stable, and have been stable for about one year. Rice prices fell by about 2 percent in Sri Lanka and would have fallen further had it not been for government procurement programmes. Thailand’s procurement programme kept rice prices steady. Prices for rice were also generally stable in Viet Nam.

Categories: Berita Bencana

World: Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Management: Voices from the field & good practices

Source: CBM Country: Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Pakistan, Thailand, Viet Nam, World

CBM and partners launch key publication on Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Management

As disasters have such a huge impact on human lives, it is important to make Disaster Risk Management inclusive to all. CBM and its partners have launched a key publication on good practices in this important field. It gives great examples of disability inclusive Disaster Risk Management, showing persons with disabilities as active participants in Disaster Risk Response interventions.

What Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction means?

Disasters have a huge impact on human infrastructure, lives and livelihoods. They can result from natural causes (earthquakes, floods, cyclones, etc.) or from human-influenced factors (like climate change and conflicts), which can lead to food insecurity and displacement of large populations.

While it remains crucial to understand and reduce the human effect in creating disasters, natural causes will continue. The key in diminishing their impact is to reduce people’s vulnerability. Through inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) programmes, incorporated in human development plans and poverty reduction programmes, risks can be reduced and communities’ resilience to disasters can be strengthened.

Persons with disabilities are often overlooked throughout the disaster management cycle and especially during relief operations, and are seldom considered as important actors in conflict prevention even though they are often more exposed during conflicts and displacement. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), in its articles 11 and 32, requires that persons with disabilities benefit from and participate in disaster relief, emergency response and disaster risk reduction strategies.

About this publication

This publication would like to contribute with advocating for a more inclusive DRR where persons with disabilities are active participants and not overlooked in relief and response actions. The practices and experiences presented here are challenging the stereotype of persons with disabilities as helpless victims, and instead showing them as effective agents in changing this exclusionary system. Their voices are introduced here to demonstrate that with the right attitude, knowledge and by making sure to provide equal opportunities for all, inclusion is possible.

Through these testimonies and individual stories, the capacity of persons with disabilities and their families in making disaster risk reduction plans and programs inclusive are shown. If supported by well-informed and disability-aware humanitarian organisations, governmental authorities and international organisations, there is possibility to make sure that persons with disabilities, 15% of the world’s population, have equal opportunity to improve their resilience towards disasters.

The good practices

Eleven good practices of Disability inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction experiences have been gathered that show concrete practical examples of how persons with disabilities are active participants in various DRR interventions. Organisations developing sustainable resilience mechanisms to disasters and climate change effects have become aware of the added value that trained and knowledge persons with disabilities bring.

Categories: Berita Bencana

World: Asia Pacific Food Situation Update - April 2013

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization Country: Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Thailand, Viet Nam, World

(Extract)

Strong biosecurity measures needed to contain bird flu Implementing strong biosecurity measures coupled with good hygiene are required to contain the spread of the H7N9 strain of avian influenza virus, Hiroyuki Konuma, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific told a press conference in Bangkok on April 11. The virus had infected 82 people and killed 17 in China by April 19.

The latest strain of the virus presents a more difficult challenge for farmers and public health officials because infected birds show almost no symptoms of the virus. “It is likely that farmers do not realize that the new virus is circulating in their flock, because their chickens are not dying off in large numbers like they were when they contracted the H5N1 virus,” Konuma said. “Good biosecurity and hygiene represent the first line of defense for the food chain.” Among measures that can prevent the spread of the disease are housing poultry in secure pens that ensure they cannot mix with wild birds that may be carrying the virus.

The FAO Regional Representative commended China’s response to the outbreak. He praised Chinese authorities’ quick notification of human cases and subsequent release of detailed information to the public on the nature of the virus and what precautionary measures to take. FAO and the international scientific community have used this information to analyze the virus sequence trying to better understand its behavior and its potential impact on humans and animals.

Konuma said that FAO is monitoring the situation closely through its network of country and regional offices and key partners, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

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Australia: Australia extends reach of tough refugee policy

Source: Agence France-Presse Country: Australia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka

05/16/2013 09:39 GMT

SYDNEY, May 16, 2013 (AFP) - Australia on Thursday extended tough refugee policies to any asylum-seeker who lands on its mainland, allowing them to be banished to remote Nauru or Papua New Guinea for detention.

Until now, the government only had powers to send boatpeople for indefinite detention in the Pacific when they reached its remote offshore territories such as Christmas Island.

The change, which was passed in parliament Thursday, strips away any advantage asylum-seekers get from reaching the mainland.

"It will ensure asylum-seekers who unlawfully arrive anywhere in Australia by boat without a visa will be subject to the same regional processing arrangements as asylum-seekers who arrive at an excised offshore place," said Immigration Minister Brendan O'Connor.

Most boats land at or are intercepted near the remote Australian territories of Christmas Island, close to Indonesia's Java, or the Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean.

Both are considered to be "excised" from Australia for immigration purposes, meaning they are subject to special laws allowing for refugees who land there to be processed in regional centres in the Pacific.

To avoid detention boatpeople have increasingly been aiming for the mainland. One packed with 66 asylum-seekers managed to evade detection and reach Geraldton in Western Australia in April.

On Tuesday a boat carrying 42 people was intercepted near Darwin.

Australia's Human Rights Commission condemned the legislation's passage, saying it undermined the nation's obligations under the refugee convention.

"By targeting unauthorised maritime arrivals, the legislation discriminates against vulnerable people and penalises them because of the way they arrive in Australia," said Commission President Gillian Triggs.

Triggs said the move deepened concerns about the plight of those held in remote Pacific camps, where conditions have been described as harsh by the United Nations, and detention "arbitrary".

Australia is struggling with a steady influx of boats from Indonesia and Sri Lanka, with arrivals topping a record 16,000 last year.

The government announced a crackdown on Australia's refugee determination process this week, targeting fewer visas in a bid to up the deterrent stakes.

Though refugees come in relatively small numbers by global standards, the issue is a political flashpoint in Australia and is likely to be a key issue in national elections in September.

Several of the often rickety, overcrowded fishing vessels have sunk in recent years, killing hundreds of people and underscoring the perils of the journey.

mp-ajc/jta/ami

© 1994-2013 Agence France-Presse

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World: Australia's aid program gets substantial increase

Source: Australian Agency for International Development Country: Australia, Fiji, Indonesia, Myanmar, Solomon Islands, World, South Sudan (Republic of)

Australia’s aid program will increase by $518 million in the 2013-14 budget to a record $5.7 billion – the equivalent of 0.37 per cent of gross national income (GNI) – the highest ODA/GNI level since 1985.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr said the Australian Government remained committed to increasing its aid budget to 0.5 per cent of GNI but this would be delayed to 2017-18 due to a write-dow in Government revenues.

The Asia-Pacific region remains the aid program’s highest priority, and will receive about 86 per cent of country specific aid in 2013-14.

New initiatives announced in the budget include $390.9 million over four years to help the Asia-Pacific region meet the Millennium Development Goals, which will provide:

– Over 1 million people with access to nutrient supplements and supplementary feeding programs; – 100,000 vision screenings and 10,000 sight-restoring surgeries to help lift some of the region’s most disadvantaged people out of poverty; – An additional 1.2 million children with improved access to a quality education; and – 900,000 women each year access to improved maternal and child health services.

The budget gives increased funding to key countries in the Asia-Pacific region including:

– Indonesia –from $541.6 million to $646.8 million; – Myanmar – from $64.2 million to $82.8 million; and – Fiji – from $49.2 million to $58.2 million.

Other funding initiatives include:

– $480.7 million over four years to continue Australia’s support to Solomon Islands during the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) transition phase and to support key development programs in the law and justice, and governance sectors; – $2.1 million over two years to extend Australia’s commitment to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan; – $65.8 million over four years to implement key recommendations of the Expert Panel; and – $375 million for helping asylum seekers onshore in 2013-14.

This figure is capped to ensure predictability and effectiveness of the aid program.

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World: Minds traumatised by disaster heal themselves without therapy

Source: Guardian Country: Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Mali, Sri Lanka, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, World

Aid agencies that promote one-off counselling sessions after major traumas only prolong victims' suffering

One of the largest earthquakes ever recorded hit on Boxing Day 2004. The resulting tsunami devastated huge swaths of the Indian Ocean coastline and left an estimated quarter of a million people dead across Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. Aid agencies quickly arrived to help battered and traumatised survivors.

Read the full report on the Guardian

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Indonesia: Mushroom farming in Indonesia

Source: Islamic Relief Country: Indonesia

An Islamic Relief project, which trained vulnerable Indonesians in West Sumatera to grow mushrooms sustainably, ended last month, allowing participating farmers to continue harvesting independently.

In total, 175 people from the districts of Padang Pariaman and Pesisir Selatan participated in this project, including women who hadn’t completed their education, orphaned children, widowed women and poor families.

Attending field-based schools and mushroom nurseries, participants were taught how to cultivate mushrooms, harvest mushroom seeds and make mushroom-based products. They also received training on marketing, branding and distributing their products.

In order to avoid overlap, participants received training in producing four different mushroom products, including crackers, chips and shredded mushroom.

We also established local farmers unions and women’s groups to allow all participants to offer support and advice to one another. The groups were responsible for maintaining and sharing equipment that we provided each group to facilitate producing the mushroom items, which include a blender, stove, pots and pans and packaging sealers.

Hj Rosmah is a 66-year-old mother-of-six who lives with her two sons, their wives and their two children in Batu Hampa in Western Sumatra.

She relies on her small pension she earned as a teacher to meet all her needs and because of her age she is unable to work in a paddy field for extra income.

She hopes this programme will provide opportunities for older people to earn a living. She explained, “I want to help other women especially the older ones through empowerment programs in order to support their families. One day I hope to be able to live in a permanent house, made of bricks with a nice veranda.”

Kasniawati is involved in all processes of the mushroom project we have- from cultivation, so parenting seeds, to selling the mushroom-based products, such as chips.

She is 40 years old and the sole provider for three children and explained that this makes the project invaluable to her, “It is an opportunity for me to learn something, such as marketing mushroom products such as chips, ice cream, and shredded mushrooms.

Seeing the public’s high demand for our products, especially to the fresh mushrooms has given me this dream to have my own mushroom plot. Even if it is small, it will be enough to support my children’s living cost and school fees.”

In 2003, 23 women in Sejahtera established a women’s farming group to grow mushrooms and create mushroom-based products. When recently received an offer from a local hospital to supply mushroom chips for patients’ meals, they found they didn’t have a big enough plot of land or good enough organization to provide the hospital with the amount of mushrooms that they need.

Islamic Relief got involved helping to coordinate the women’s group work shifts, meetings and marketing techniques.

Endri Yanti heads the women’s farmer group in Sejahtera. She explained, “Islamic Relief works using a comprehensive approach, starting from training on cultivation, parenting the mushroom seeds and making mushroom products, as well as marketing the product.

This holistic attitude has made the project very successful and makes it stand out from the governmental approach to farming projects, which only give training on cultivation.”

Islamic Relief has since arranged for a larger mushroom plot for the women’s farming group so that they are able to fulfill the hospital’s needs. We have also organized the work schedule to optimize cultivation, packing and the production of mushroom items and to avoid needless overlapping.

We also trained the 23 women in sales techniques to enable them to sell their items in local neighbourhoods- a task which goes against the traditional roles women play in this community, but which has helped women-headed households bring in an income to support their families.

Islamic Relief aims to provide vulnerable people with the tools to support themselves. Throughout the project, participants were trained to plant, harvest, seed and replant mushrooms independently, as well as learning selling and marketing techniques.

Islamic Relief Indonesia is now working with orphanages to create sustainable vegetable gardens in order for staff and children at the orphanages to be able to learn how to farm their own food.

Categories: Berita Bencana

Indonesia: Bringing home-farming to Indonesia’s orphanage

Source: Islamic Relief Country: Indonesia

Last month, Islamic Relief launched a project to bring micro-farms to eight orphanages in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. The project aims to turn the disused land of local orphanages into gardens filled with vegetables, ducks, and fishponds.

Staff at the orphanages will attend workshops on farming methods, and receive lessons on how to raise ducks and freshwater fish. The 400 children who live in the participating orphanages will be taught to plant vegetables and farm fish. The project that combines child welfare and livelihood support, by enabling children to take an interest in small-scale farming, as well as providing them with basic farming skills for when they are old enough to leave the orphanage.

Nashar Uddin, Programme Manager at Islamic Relief Indonesia explained, “Many of the orphanages in the area have lots of land but, for the most part, the gardens are unused. We aim to help these places fulfil their potential to grow their own vegetables which will feed children living at the orphanages and bring in extra money to support students’ extracurricular activities.”

In total, Islamic Relief is establishing seven duck farms, eight catfish ponds with approximately 1,800 square metres of fish ponds 2,000 square metres of vegetable beds.

Once the micro-farms are completed, Islamic Relief will host government representatives, the local community, and orphanage staff and children, guiding guests through farm sustainability and best practice in order for these projects to be mirrored elsewhere.

Islamic Relief has been working in Banda Aceh since 2004, one week after the onset of the devastating tsunami. In the aftermath of the tsunami, we provided food and household items, clean water, health and education facilities, as well as temporary and permanent shelter.

Since then, we have constructed over 1,000 houses for tsunami survivors and repaired and reconstructed over 30 schools and clinics.

Categories: Berita Bencana

Indonesia: Safeguarding students in disaster-prone Aceh

Source: Islamic Relief Country: Indonesia

Children learning first aid techniques at school

Islamic Relief has made sure that three vulnerable schools in disaster-prone Indonesia are ready for when the worst happens.

In a project funded by Islamic Relief Netherlands, we worked with local partner the PKPU to deliver the project. It saw us working collaboratively with two vulnerable elementary schools and one junior high in Aceh, an area that was devastated by the boxing-day tsunami of 2004.

“Our school is very close to the shore,” said the headmaster of IL Elementary School, “and is frequently struck by earthquakes.”

Infrastructure vulnerabilities - including fragile roofs, unsafe bookcases, poor warning signage and broken roads - were addressed. In addition, teachers, students, parents and the wider community took part in training designed to prepare them for disasters, boost their ability to cope, and to work together to reduce the impact. The training developed clearly defined roles for everyone when a disaster strikes, as well as early warning systems and evacuation routes. Participants also received training on first aid and hundreds took part in emergency simulations.

Students learned essential lessons on what to do in a disaster through Disaster Preparedness School Festivals. These used drama, dance, art and other fun activities to emphasise important preparedness messages. A special song served as a simple reminder:

“Kalau ada gempa lindungi kepala

Kalau ada gempa masuk ke kolong meja Kalau ada gempa hindari jendela kaca Kalau ada gempa lari kelapangan terbuka”

"If there is an earthquake protect your head
If there is an earthquake go under the table
If there is an earthquake avoid glass-windows
If there is an earthquake run into the open field"

It is expected that the programme will be replicated in other vulnerable schools, as part of efforts to reduce suffering caused by disasters and emergencies. Other agencies involved in the scheme include the Aceh Provincial Red Cross and Tsunami Disaster Mitigation Research Center, as well as Syiah Kuala University in Banda Aceh.

Categories: Berita Bencana

Indonesia: Tensions over Aceh’s Flag

Source: International Crisis Group Country: Indonesia

Asia Briefing N°139
7 May 2013

OVERVIEW

The decision of the Aceh provincial government to adopt the banner of the former rebel Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, GAM) as its official provincial flag is testing the limits of autonomy, irritating Jakarta, heightening ethnic and political tensions, reviving a campaign for the division of Aceh and raising fears of violence as a national election approaches in 2014.

On 25 March 2013, the provincial legislature adopted a regulation (qanun) making the GAM’s old banner the provincial flag. It was immediately signed by Governor Zaini Abdullah. The governor and deputy governor are members of Partai Aceh, the political party set up by former rebel leaders in 2008 that also controls the legislature.

The central government, seeing the flag as a separatist symbol and thus in violation of national law, immediately raised objections and asked for changes. Partai Aceh leaders, seeing the flag as a potent tool for mass mobilisation in 2014, have refused, arguing that it cannot be a separatist symbol if GAM explicitly recognised Indonesian sovereignty as part of the Helsinki peace agreement in 2005 that ended a nearly 30-year insurgency. Partai Aceh believes that if it remains firm, Jakarta will eventually concede, as it did in 2012 over an election dispute.

Indonesian President Yudhoyono’s government is torn. On the one hand, it does not want a fight with the GAM leaders; the 2005 peace agreement is the most important achievement of a president who, in his final term, is very much concerned about his legacy. It also is unwilling to provoke GAM too far, fearful that it will return to conflict, a fear many in Aceh discount as unwarranted but one that Partai Aceh has exploited with relish. On the other hand, it does not want to be branded as anti-nationalist as the 2014 election looms, especially as some in the security forces remain convinced that GAM has not given up the goal of independence and is using democratic means to pursue it. The president and his advisers also know that if they allow the GAM flag to fly, it will have repercussions in Papua, where dozens of pro-independence activists remain jailed for flying the “Morning Star” flag of the independence movement.

GAM leaders see little to lose by standing their ground. The flag is a hugely emotive symbol, and defying Jakarta is generally a winning stance locally. Some individual members of parliament see it as a way of regaining waning popularity for failing to deliver anything substantive to their constituencies. Also, Partai Aceh took a controversial decision to partner with Gerindra, the party of former army General Pra­bo­wo Subianto, for the 2014 election. Leaders like Muzakir Manaf, deputy governor and former commander of GAM’s armed wing, may want to use the flag issue to show they have not compromised their principles by allying with a man whose human rights record is often questioned.

Within Aceh, adoption of the GAM flag has sparked protests from non-Acehnese ethnic groups in the central highlands and south west. The GAM heartland has always been along the east coast; to highlanders like the Gayo, the flag thus represents the domination of the coastal Acehnese at their expense. The issue has revived a dor­mant campaign for the division of Aceh into three by the creation of two new provinces, Aceh Leuser Antara (ALA) for the central highlands and Aceh Barat Selatan (ABAS) for the south west. If GAM does not back down on the flag, support for that campaign by the intelligence services is likely to rise, and with it, the probability of increased ethnic tensions.

The options for breaking the stalemate seem to be as follows: the government concedes; GAM concedes, making slight changes to the flag by adding or removing an element; GAM agrees to limits on how or where the flag can be displayed; or the dispute is taken to the Supreme Court, thereby delaying any resolution.

In the meantime, the power of the GAM machinery in Aceh continues to grow.

Jakarta/Brussels, 7 May 2013

Categories: Berita Bencana

Indonesia: Racing for water

Source: Global Hope Network International Country: Indonesia

Posted by Bethany on May 6th, 2013

Tanah Keke, Indonesia

A year ago, the women of Tanah Keke would race to the local well in the middle of the night to get water for their family. In less than four minutes, you can see a village transform from racing for water in the middle of the night to having enough water for each family. GHNI National leader, Phil, captures this inspiring six-month transformation on video. GHNI National leader, Phil, captures this inspiring six-month transformation on video.

Categories: Berita Bencana

Indonesia: World Bank to Help Scale-Up Water Sanitation Coverage in Indonesia

Source: World Bank Country: Indonesia

Third Water Supply and Sanitation for Low Income Communities project expected to provide improved water and sanitation to 11.6 million Indonesians

Washington DC, May 2, 2013 – Over 11 million Indonesians across the country are set to benefit from improved water and sanitation facilities following approval of additional financing today by the World Bank Board of Directors.

The Third Water Supply and Sanitation for Low Income Communities project – known locally since its launch in 2006 as the PAMSIMAS project (Penyediaan Air Minum dan Sanitasi Berbasis Masyarakat) – supports an Indonesian government led initiative to expand access to safe water and sanitation, and improve hygiene.

“By scaling up this project with additional financing, the World Bank hopes to double coverage from 15 provinces to 32 provinces, as well as more than double the number of families that will benefit from safer sanitation,” says World Bank Country Director for Indonesia, Stefan Koeberle. “One key to the program’s success has been the community-driven approach, which the World Bank continues to support.”

Poor sanitation facilities can have a debilitating impact on communities, prompting poor public health, and limiting the potential of economic growth.

Two of the four most important causes of under-5 mortality in Indonesia —diarrhea and typhoid—are fecal-borne illnesses directly linked to poor water supply, sanitation, and hygiene. Impediments to water supply also lead to women and children from low-income households spending too much time fetching water.

The Third Water Supply and Sanitation for Low Income Communities project complements the “Water for All” program led by Indonesia’s Ministry of Public Works, and “Community-Led Total Sanitation” program managed by the Ministry of Health.

Categories: Berita Bencana

Indonesia: Pillay concerned about persistent violence and abuses in Papua (Indonesia)

Source: UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Country: Indonesia

GENEVA (2 May 2013) – The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Thursday expressed serious concerns over the crackdown on mass demonstrations across Papua since 30 April, with police reportedly using excessive force and arresting people for raising pro-independence flags.

“These latest incidents are unfortunate examples of the ongoing suppression of freedom of expression and excessive use of force in Papua,” Pillay said. “I urge the Government of Indonesia to allow peaceful protest and hold accountable those involved in abuses.”

Reports indicate that on 30 April police shot and killed two protesters in the city of Sorong who were preparing to mark the 50th anniversary of Papua becoming a part of Indonesia. At least 20 protesters were arrested in the cities of Biak and Timika on 1 May.

“After my official visit to Indonesia last November, I am disappointed to see violence and abuses continuing in Papua,” Pillay said. She added that there was a need for coherent policies and actions to address the underlying concerns and grievances of the local population in Papua.

Since May 2012, we have received 26 reports concerning alleged human rights violations, including 45 killings and cases of torture involving 27 people. While many incidents relate to communal violence, serious allegations of human rights abuses by law enforcement officials persist.

“International human rights law requires the Government of Indonesia to conduct thorough, prompt and impartial investigations into the incidents of killings and torture and bring the perpetrators to justice,” said the High Commissioner.

“There has not been sufficient transparency in addressing serious human rights violations in Papua,” she said. “I urge Indonesia to allow international journalists into Papua and to facilitate visits by the Special Rapporteurs of the UN Human Rights Council.”

As of March 2013, at least 20 political prisoners remain in detention in Papua, including prominent activist Filep Karma. In May 2005, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for treason after leading a ceremony to raise the West Papuan Flag. In 2011, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded that Mr. Karma’s detention was arbitrary and requested that the Government take all necessary steps to release and compensate him in accordance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Indonesia is party. So far, the Government has not complied with the request.

“During my mission to Indonesia last November, I expressed concern over Papuan activists being imprisoned for the peaceful exercise of freedom of expression,” Pillay said, reiterating that dissent is not a crime. “It is disappointing to see more people arrested for peacefully expressing their views and I call upon the Government to release all prisoners in custody for crimes that relate to their freedom of expression.”

The National Human Rights Commission, Komnas Ham, and the National Commission on Violence against Women, Komnas Perempuan, have consistently raised concerns regarding violence and freedom of expression in Papua and made concrete recommendations to the Government of Indonesia.

“I encourage the Government to implement the recommendations made by Komnas Ham and Komnas Perempuan,” the High Commissioner said, emphasizing the vital role these national institutions play in the protection of human rights in Indonesia. Pillay encouraged the Government to continue supporting them as independent bodies and to strengthen their financial support.

ENDS

For more information or media enquiries please contact Rupert Colville (+ 41 22 917 9767 or rcolville@ohchr.org) or Cécile Pouilly (+41 22 917 93 10 / cpouilly@ohchr.org)

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Categories: Berita Bencana

Indonesia: FAO gives cows, goats to Merapi farmers

Source: Jakarta Post Country: Indonesia

Bambang Muryanto, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta | Archipelago | Wed, May 01 2013, 10:28 AM

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has given more than 240 cows, goats and sheep to those in Sleman, Yogyakarta, and Magelang, Central Java, affected by the eruption of Mount Merapi in 2010.

“The livestock [donation] is aimed at supporting and securing the livelihood of the people who live in the area,” Indonesia FAO representative Mustafa Imir said after visiting community livestock pens in Cangkringan district in Sleman on Monday.

The FAO provided cattle to those living in Hunian Tetap in Kuwang, Sleman, since their houses in Bakalan hamlet were destroyed by the eruption.

Meanwhile, 190 goats and sheep were provided to residents of Blongkeng village in Magelang displaced after their homes were swept away by cold lava flows following the eruption of the volcano.

Mustafa symbolically handed over the assistance to Sleman Regent Sri Purnomo and Magelang Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) head Eko Triyono on Monday. “We hope that in the future, people can increase their incomes and livelihood.”

Mustafa and Purnomo then inaugurated two 84-cow community pens in Hunian Tetap designed for residents to develop biogas from animal waste.

Purnomo said that the eruption killed 2,233 dairy cows, 235 beef cattle and tens of thousands of chickens and quails and destroyed livestock pens, depriving people of their livelihoods.

“The total amount of losses from the livestock sector amounted to Rp 48 billion,” Purnomo said. The amount is equivalent to US$4.93 million.

One member of the community receiving the aid, Eko Bejo Subekti, said that he would take good care of the livestock, promising to share with those yet to receive assistance.

“We promise to raise the livestock well so as to quickly restore the local economy,” Eko said.

Sebastian Saragih, the FAO livelihood coordinator for the Merapi program, said that the plans to develop communal pens and give livestock were initiated by the government alongside agencies under the UN, such as the United Nations Development Program, the FAO and the International Organization for Migration.

“The program has been sponsored by the Indonesia Multi-Donor Funds Facility for Disaster Recovery, which was later changed to the Indonesia Disaster Fund [IDF], supporting funds for which were derived from New Zealand AID,” Sebastian said.

Wangsit, a representative from the Institute for Promoting a Sustainable Livelihood Approach (Improsula), FAO’s partner in the project, said the supply of hay for the livestock was grown in the abandoned villages.

The residents made use of their former homes to grow grass, Wangsit said.

“The project can also be a model for residents living on the slopes of Mount Merapi who wish to move to safer locations. Their former living places could be turned into farms to grow grass,” Wangsit added.

Categories: Berita Bencana