Trauma Counseling Needed Most in Aceh, Says CWS Health Officer
A senior health officer with CWS reported today that what the people of Aceh need most is trauma counseling now, to prevent complications and problems later.
In Indonesia’s tsunami-wracked Sumatra island, a senior health officer with international humanitarian agency Church World Service (CWS) reported today that what the people of Aceh need most is trauma counseling now, to prevent complications and problems later.
“The most urgent intervention now is a psychosocial or mental health one,” concluded Dr. Julia Suryantan, CWS Indonesia’s Senior Program Officer for Health and Nutrition, after touring the province since Jan. 3.
“This is the most prevalent concern,” she said.
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According to CWS Emergency Program Director Rick Augsburger, who returned last week from assessment tours of Aceh, CWS and other aid organizations are turning now towards the very serious long-term recovery needs in the damaged areas of Indonesia. “But long term recovery in this case must be about the people first, not only about infrastructure,” Augsburger stated.
“Re-building viable households, livelihoods, businesses, communities and civil services requires healthy, functioning people,” the program director added. “After a disaster of this magnitude—even a ‘natural’ versus ‘human caused’ one—the likelihood of persistent traumatic stress disorder can’t be ignored.”
However, Suryantan noted that the approach for mental health interventions couldn’t be generalized for all the people in Aceh. “They are affected by different levels of problems and they have different ability to manage problems,” she said, adding that treatment should be a community-based approach.
With offices in Banda Aceh and Meubolah as well as Jakarta, CWS Indonesia has managed mental health and trauma programs for several years in the violence-torn country. And with local presence and partners, CWS Indonesia was able to operate in Aceh despite the Indonesian government’s keeping the rebel province closed to outside aid agencies, journalists and others.
The CWS Indonesia team, which arrived in Banda Aceh on Dec. 29, currently works in tandem with the mental health team in giving services to the displaced and their host families. During medical examinations, the doctors diagnose patients’ mental condition as well and refer patients to the psychosocial team.
In addition to delivering medical and mental health services to tsunami victims, Church World Service has to date delivered more than $1.5 million in food, shelter, hygiene and school kits, blankets and other aid supplies throughout South Asia.
The agency reports that it is continuing its multi-million fundraising campaign to support extensive long-term recovery programs in the worst hit and least served tsunami disaster areas.
