Form Donation Primary Medical Care In Rural Areas

Access

East Sumba has a population of over 255,000 people, spread over an area of 7,000 km2. Therefore, the population density is 36 people per km2 (source: BPS East Sumba 2017). The hilly terrain of Sumba is an obstacle in several areas, including access to healthcare.
Indeed, roads are made of rocky and dangerous paths, hardly practicable whether by car, motorbike, or ambulance.

Infrastructure

Some districts have a health center, commonly named Puskesmas, which can be open in the morning and who provides basic health care,

Water and sanitation

In this part of Indonesia, access to water is not an acquired right. Families have to walk several kilometres to access a well or a water source.

The majority of health centres also do not have direct access to water.

Knowledge

During our field missions, we meet many children, adolescents and adults injured, especially on the feet and legs. Children have to walk many kilometers to get to school, on these dangerous paths, and even cross rivers, some of them barefoot; therefore, they are the most affected by these injuries.

These are left untreated; they do not have access to medical care or the most basic knowledge, such as disinfecting or bandaging a wound. From then on, these wounds become infected, and fatalities can result from a minor injury.

This is also closely linked to lack of hygiene, lack of access to water, lack of medical knowledge and resources.

Prevention and hygiene

Basic health starts with prevention and knowledge about primary care and how to prevent sickness and infections through good hygiene and change of habits. This knowledge is lacking in rural areas of Sumba.