Floods in Indonesia take a heavy toll on children’s health and schooling
News from Jakarta, December 15 — Severe flooding and landslides across Indonesia have inflicted a broad range of health problems on children and disrupted their schooling, even as water levels begin to recede in parts of Sumatra. In several areas, especially remote and cut-off communities, needs remain pressing.
In Aceh, where Save the Children was among the first responders with local partners, infrastructure continues to suffer shutdowns and some villages remain unreachable.
The disaster has claimed at least 990 lives, including children, according to Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency.
Fandi Yusuf, Strategic Communications Manager for Save the Children Indonesia, who has spent nearly two weeks in affected zones, describes the scene firsthand:
"Many families are still forcibly displaced and living in temporary shelters. Children are sleeping outdoors with minimal protection, leaving them exposed to rain, wind, and mosquitoes."
Ground-based health partners report children presenting with coughs, colds, and skin conditions. There are growing concerns about the well‑being of infants in inadequate temporary shelters.
Save the Children has been active in the hardest-hit areas since late November. In Aceh, through our local partner, Geutanyoe Foundation (Yayasan Geutanyoe), we have distributed essential emergency kits, food supplies, mattresses, and medicines, and established child-friendly spaces to provide psychosocial support. Activities such as drawing, dancing, singing, and play help children regain a sense of normalcy amid the upheaval.
Education has suffered a major setback. About a quarter of a million students have seen their schooling interrupted due to floods and landslides. In flood-affected zones, many children have not attended classes for two weeks, and hundreds of schools have sustained damage.
Al Fadhil, Director of the Geutanyoe Foundation, Save the Children’s ground partner, notes that reaching remote districts remains a significant hurdle, particularly in Central and North Aceh and Bener Meriah. "Beyond long, on-foot journeys, the only feasible access is by air in some places."
Save the Children, in collaboration with partners and provincial health authorities, has provided health support, screenings, and medicines, serving roughly 2,500 people to date.
The organization has maintained a continuous presence in Indonesia since 1976, responding to major humanitarian crises such as the 2004 tsunami and the 2018 Sulawesi earthquake.
References:
Sitrep 12 December: https://share.google/8ONLx2aWEzT0USOIO
