The delivery of essential humanitarian services after the tsunami in Aceh, Indonesia

Shannon Doocy, PhD; Anita Shankar, PhD; Bahie Rassekh; Courtland Robinson, PhD; Gilbert Burnham, MD, PhD

doi:10.5055/jem.2006.0042

Authors

Shannon Doocy, PhD
Anita Shankar, PhD
Bahie Rassekh
Courtland Robinson, PhD
Gilbert Burnham, MD, PhD

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.2006.0042

Keywords:

tsunami, Indonesia, humanitarian assistance, beneficiary, satisfaction

Abstract

A survey of 478 Indonesian households displaced by the tsunami was conducted in two districts in Aceh Province in late March and early April 2005. Essential services (shelter, water, food, health services) were provided to approximately half of internally displaced persons (IDPs) within seven days of the tsunami, and this figure rose to around 70 percent within two weeks of the tsunami. Essential services reached significantly greater proportions of the tsunami- displaced population in Aceh Besar than Banda Aceh at both two and four weeks post-tsunami. The majority of IDPs reported satisfaction with essential services other than shelter in the first two weeks posttsunami, and satisfaction with essential services other than food increased by four weeks after the tsunami. Of IDP households surveyed, the vast majority reported that there were services they would have liked to receive but did not, both in the month following the tsunami and at the time of the survey.

Author Biographies

Shannon Doocy, PhD

Research Associate, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.

Anita Shankar, PhD

Research Associate, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland. Based in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Bahie Rassekh

Student, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.

Courtland Robinson, PhD

Assistant Professor, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.

Gilbert Burnham, MD, PhD

Professor, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.

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