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Indonesia establishes health crisis centres in disaster zones

JAKARTA (AFP) - Indonesia has established health crisis centres to ensure a quick response to the many disasters which afflict the country."Quick response to disasters is a priority. We set up crisis centres in nine regions so we don't have to go through Jakarta to quickly respond to disasters," Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari told reporters Wednesday.

The disaster-prone areas covered include Medan, covering northern Sumatra and Aceh, Riau, Jambi, Java, Kalimantan and Sulawesi.

The centres are able to respond quickly with money, food and medicine in the event of a disaster.

They have already been put through their paces.

In recent weeks the crisis centres have helped out following a deadly earthquake and landslides in northern Sumatra, massive floods in Aceh province, Riau and West Kalimantan and two ferry sinkings.

According to government estimates, Indonesia suffers an average of 2.75 natural disasters a day, whether quakes, landslides, floods or other crises.

The Indonesian archipelago sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire where continental plates meet, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.

Supari also presented her department's achievements over the past two years, pointing to a "significant drop in the infant mortality rate from 35 per 1,000 births in 2004 to 30.8 per 1,000 births in 2006."

The maternal mortality rate dropped from 307 in 2004 to 262 per 100,000 births by the end of 2006.

By comparison, the corresponding reported figures for the United States are six and eight, respectively.

www.afp.com

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