The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned Aotearoa New Zealand to urgently close the “alarming” gaps in measles immunisation, particularly among Māori and Pacific communities.

A WHO review last year found measles vaccination rates were at their lowest since 2012, and said the country was at risk of another large outbreak if those gaps were not filled.

Aotearoa eliminated measles in 2017, but saw a major outbreak in 2019 that infected more than 2000 people and hospitalised 700, many of them young children.

There are now 10 confirmed cases across Manawatū, Nelson, Northland, Taranaki, Wellington and Auckland, raising fears of wider community spread.

Only 72 percent of Māori under five years old are vaccinated, compared with 82 percent across the general population. To stop outbreaks, at least 95 percent coverage is needed.

Public Health Director Dr Corina Grey said the Ministry of Health shared WHO’s concerns.

“We know Māori and Pacific children are still missing out — that’s something we have to fix,” she said.

Serious risk
Pacific health researcher Chris Puliuvea said there is serious risk, specifically for Pacific communities.

“There is a 95 percent level where we need to be [with immunisation]. I believe we may even be behind the general population. For example, in the Bay of Plenty, vaccination rates are well behind other ethnic groups in that region,” Dr Puliueva said.

Dr Puli’uvea warned that measles can be easily spread.

“There is a serious concern at the moment. One infected person could affect up to 18 other people. The virus lingers in the air for several hours, which encourages spread. It’s far more infectious than COVID-19, and that’s a concern for our Māori and Pacific communities,” Puli’uvea said.

“I think what makes it also difficult is that you can be infected with the virus at very early stages and not show symptoms until four days later, so you could be infectious and you could be spreading it.

“Obviously it will take time to report that incident. So I think there is a serious concern at the moment, and the reason why I have this concern is why the vaccination rates are not where [they’re] meant to be,” he added.

Dr Puli’uvea said the lower vaccination rates among Māori and Pacific communities was a complex issue, although there are several reasons.

Key covid lessons
“It’s a difficult question . . .  key lessons from covid-19 showed us the importance of engaging with communities, particularly the faith community, and addressing misinformation and disinformation.

“That’s one of the inequalities.

“Other inequities are just excess people not being able to find time to go and get vaccinated over because they’re at work, or just lots of other things, finding the time to go and get vaccinated is one of them.

“The other thing that I’ve found is some people are not sure if they are immunised, particularly for those born in the 1990s onward,” he said.

Dr Puli’uvea encouraged families to vaccinate even if they were unsure about their vaccination status.

“With MMR, I simply encourage people to go and get vaccinated. There’s no harm in getting the full course again. It protects not only the individual but also prevents spreading the virus,” Dr Puli’uvea said.

The Ministry of Health has expanded vaccination access through pharmacies, GPs, and health centres, and offered incentives for on-time childhood immunisations.

“Every child vaccinated helps protect the whole community,” Dr Grey said.

They also explained that people can check records and get free MMR vaccinations from their GP, pharmacy, or local clinic.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Surveillance and better vaccine coverage is needed to prevent another measles outbreak in the Pacific, says the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Western Pacific regional director.

Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala said many children missed out on routine vaccinations — including measles and rubella — during the covid-19 pandemic.

According to WHO, measles cases jumped by 225 percent — from just over 1400 cases in 2022 to more than 5000 last year — in the Western Pacific region.

“I think the health workforce were concentrating on covid-19 vaccinations and forgot about routine vaccinations, not only for measles, but other routine immunisation schedule,” Piukala told RNZ Pacific.

“People are going back to fill the gaps.”

From 2022 to 2023, 11 countries in the Western Pacific, including Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau and Papua New Guinea, conducted nationwide measles and rubella vaccination campaigns.

Catch-up successful
Piukala said the catch-up campaigns had been successful.

“That will definitely reduce the risk,” he said.

“No child should get sick or die of measles.”

In 2019, Samoa had an outbreak that killed 83 people off the back of an outbreak in Auckland.

Piukala said the deaths made people understand the importance of measles and rubella vaccinations for their children.

Fiji, Guam, French Polynesia and New Caledonia are the only countries or territories that have local testing capacity for measles, with most nations sending samples to Melbourne for testing.

Piukala said WHO plans for Samoa, the Cook Islands, and the Solomon Islands to have testing capacity by 2025.

“The PCR machines that were made available in Pacific Island countries during the covid pandemic can also be used to detect other respiratory viruses, including the flu, LSV, and measles and rubella.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Daycare centres have been shut down in American Samoa following confirmation of an eight-year-old girl with measles.

The territory’s Department of Health (DOH) said samples from the child, who was seen at a community centre with symptoms on March 27, were sent for testing in California and returned positive.

Day cares are now closed to protect babies from being exposed to the virus, as infants under six months are not eligible for the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine.

Kanana Fou Elementary School in Tafuna, where the girl attends, has also been closed.

The Health Department will monitor the situation as to whether more schools will be closed, said Director of Health Motusa Tuileama Nua.

“This is is highly contagious disease and can spread quickly and poses a serious threat to individuals who are not vaccinated or who have weakened immune systems,” Nua said.

“We are working closely with healthcare providers, local officials, and other stakeholders to coordinate our response efforts and provide necessary support to those affected,” he said.

“We will continue to monitor for any other cases and provide updates as necessary.”

The Department of Health has the names of children who have not received the first and second measles vaccinations and will be contacting their parents to get them immunised.

Parents have been urged to check on their children’s measles vaccination.

Symptoms of measles include a fever, a rash, runny nose, and reddening of the eyes.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

As many as 15 children under the age of five in Central Papua have reportedly died of measles.

Parish Priest of Christ the Redeemer Church in Timeepa, Yeskiel Belau, told Jubi News he estimated the number to be higher because there were areas that had not been checked.

The data obtained by the church stated as many as 83 children in his ministry area alone had had measles, he said.

“In the parish centre, there are five kombas (base communities). The 15 children who died were only from the five commanders. Excluding the Toubai, Degadai, Megai Dua, Abaugi, and Dioudimi Stations.

“If the number is added, it will surely explode,” he said.

Timeepa Health Center head Yoki Butu said his party was conducting post-handover services for the measles and rubella (MR) vaccine by the Acting Dogiyai Regent, Petrus Agapa, to prevent measles in Dogiyai District.

His party immediately administered drugs to the targeted babies, he said.

“Our immunisation coverage has been carried out, in my service area there are only four villages and we have done that,” Yoki said.

Regarding the death of the 15 toddlers, Jubi News reported Yoki said the measles case was not only in the Dogiyai area but was currently the concern of all parties because it had become an “extraordinary event” in Central Papua Province.

“So let’s join hands to break the chain of transmission,” he said.

Measles is a serious viral infection, which can spread to others via coughing and sneezing.

Samoan baby admitted to hospital
In Samoa, an 11-month-old baby has been admitted to hospital suspected of measles.

Director-General of Health Aiono Dr Alec Ekeroma told TV1 Samoa the infant was showing symptoms of measles and had been isolated to await results of blood samples sent to New Zealand.

He confirmed two other patients were tested recently and returned negative results.

The Ministry of Health were continuing the mumps measles and rubella (MMR) vaccination push around the country, according to Aiono.

“We’ve approved the payment of staff overtime to allow for them to work Saturday,” he said.

It had been three weeks since the MMR immunisation campaign started and they had reached 85 percent of babies with the first dosage, Aiono said.

The second dosage was only at 45 percent coverage, and Aiono urged parents to push for their children to be fully vaccinated with both doses.

“We hope to reach 80 percent coverage with the second dose by June,” he said.

Meanwhile, the latest test results are expected next week.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Television New Zealand’s journalists have come out on top at the annual Voyager Media Awards last night, scooping a number of awards in key categories, reports TVNZ 1 News.

1 News Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver was recognised for both the Best TV/Video News Item and Best Coverage of a Major News Event for her leading coverage of the Samoan measles crisis last year.

Sunday’s Jehan Casinader was awarded Broadcast Reporter of the Year and Best TV/Video Current Affairs, Short, for his feature Black Friday.

READ MORE: Voyager Media Awards 2020

Grief in Samoa ‘next level’ as measles epidemic claims at least 68 lives – TVNZ 1 News

TVNZ’s online news and current affairs platform Re: rounded out the Best TV/Video Current Affairs Category, winning the Long section for the feature Rediscovering Aotearoa: aroha/love.

The runner-ups for those categories were TVNZ’s Seven Sharp for Harri Brown’s story and Sunday’s feature on The Numbers Game.

In other categories, Re: reporter Cass Marrett won Best Video Journalist – Junior, while Mava Enoka received the Peter M Acland Fellowship, which will see her undertake a placement at Al Jazeera international television network Southeast Asia headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

The 1 News design team won Best Artwork/Graphics, with their high-end augmented reality work featuring highly on 1 News’ news bulletins.

The major media awards were conducted remotely this year due to the covid-19 corovavirus pandemic gathering restrictions.

Other major categories include Newspaper of the Year and Website of the Year, both of which went to The New Zealand Herald.

All winners at the Voyager Media Awards 2020

Best headline, caption or hook  – Barnaby Sharp, Nelson Mail/Stuff

Best artwork / graphics – 1 NEWS Design Team, TVNZ

Best interview or profile – Michelle Langstone, NZ Herald/NZME

Cartoonist of the Year – Toby Morris, The Spinoff

Opinion Writer of the Year – Emma Espiner, Newsroom

Reviewer of the Year – Paul Little, North & South/Bauer Media

Travel Journalist of the Year – Mike White, North & South/Bauer Media

Editorial Executive of the Year – Annabelle Lee-Mather, The Hui GSTV for MediaWorks

Best feature or current affairs video – single video journalist – Luke McPake with “Death Bed: The Story of Kelly Savage”, RNZ

Best video journalist – junior – Cass Marrett, Re: / TVNZ

Video Journalist of the Year – Lawrence Smith, Stuff

Best TV/video documentary – Stuff Circuit/Stuff and Māori Television, “Infinite Evil”

Best TV/video news item – 1 NEWS/TVNZ with Barbara Dreaver, “Measles lockdown”

Best TV/video current affairs, short (up to 10 mins) – Sunday/TVNZ with Jehan Casinader, “Black Friday”

Best TV/video current affairs, long (between 10 mins and 20 mins) – Re:/TVNZ, “Rediscovering Aotearoa: aroha/love”

Reporting – crime and justice – Blair Ensor, The Press/Stuff

Reporting – social issues, including health and education – Emma Russell, NZ Herald/NZME

Reporting – general – Patrick Gower, Newshub/MediaWorks

Best reporting – Māori Affairs – Te Aniwa Hurihanganui, RNZ

Environmental/Sustainability Award – Kate Evans, New Zealand Geographic/Kōwhai Media

Science Journalism Award – Eloise Gibson, newsroom.co.nz

Best individual investigation – Patrick Gower for “Exposing white supremacy in New Zealand”, Newshub/MediaWorks

Best team investigation – Stuff, “Product of Australia”

Best (single) news story / scoop – Melanie Reid, newsroom.co.nz

Best coverage of a major news event – 1 News/TVNZ with Barbara Dreaver, “Samoan measles crisis”

Best editorial campaign or project – newsroom.co.nz, “Oranga Tamariki uplifts”

Best Reporter – junior – Logan Church, RNZ

Student Journalist of the Year – Ashley Stanley, newsroom.co.nz

Community Journalist of the Year – Virginia Fallon, Kāpiti Observer/Stuff

Regional Journalist of the Year – Hamish McNeilly, The Press/Stuff

Sports Journalist of the Year – Dana Johannsen, Stuff

Business Journalist of the Year – Tim Hunter, NBR

Political Journalist of the Year – Audrey Young, NZ Herald/NZME

Broadcast Reporter of the Year – Jehan Casinader, Sunday/TVNZ

Reporter of the Year – Guyon Espiner, RNZ

nib Health Journalism Scholarship – junior – Emma Russell, NZ Herald/NZME

nib Health Journalism Scholarship – senior – Nicholas Jones, NZ Herald/NZME

Regional Journalism Scholarship – Natalie Akoorie, NZ Herald/NZME; Aaron Leaman, Waikato Times/Stuff

Peter M Acland Foundation Fellowship – Mava Enoka, TVNZ; Charles Anderson, Vanishing Point Studio

Feature writing – crime and justice – Mike White, North & South/Bauer Media

Feature writing – social issues, including health and education – Florence Kerr, Stuff

Feature writing – general – Steve Braunias, NZ Herald/NZME and newsroom.co.nz; Duncan Greive, The Spinoff

Best first-person essay or feature (no word limit) – Tayi Tibble, newsroom.co.nz

Best feature writer – junior (no word limit) – Joel MacManus, Stuff

Feature Writer of the Year – short form (up to 3500 words) – Nicholas Jones, NZ Herald/NZME

Feature Writer of the Year – long form (3500+ words) – Aaron Smale, RNZ

Best magazine cover – HOME New Zealand/Bauer Media

Best magazine design – HOME New Zealand/Bauer Media

Best newspaper-inserted magazine – Sunday Magazine, Sunday Star-Times/Stuff

Best trade/specialist publication, free magazine and/or website – Air Force News/Defence Public Affairs

Magazine of the Year – Metro magazine/Bauer Media; New Zealand Geographic/Kōwhai Media

Best photography – features (including portraits, fashion, food and architecture) – Braden Fastier, Nelson Mail/Stuff

Best photography – news – George Heard, The Press/Stuff

Judges’ prize for the single best news photo – Stacy Squires, The Press, Dominion Post, Sunday Star-Times/Stuff

Best photography – sport – Mark Baker, Associated Press

Best photo-story/essay – Cameron McLaren, New Zealand Geographic/Kōwhai Publishing

Photographer of the Year – Alan Gibson, NZ Herald/NZME

Best newspaper front page – The Press/Stuff

Community Newspaper of the Year – The Beacon/Beacon Media Group

Newspaper of the Year (up to 30,000 circulation) – Waikato Times/Stuff

Newspaper of the Year (more than 30,000 circulation) – NZ Herald/NZME

Weekly Newspaper of the Year – Sunday Star-Times/Stuff

Voyager Newspaper of the Year – NZ Herald/NZME

Podcast – Best narrative/serial – “White Silence”, RNZ and Stuff

Podcast – Best episodic/recurrent – “He Kakano Ahau”, RNZ and Ursula Grace Films; “Out of My Mind”, Stuff

Best innovation in digital storytelling – “Fighting the Demon”, NZ Herald/NZME and Greenstone

Best news website or app – nzherald.co.nz/NZME

Website of the Year – nzherald.co.nz/NZME

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Tama Salim in Jakarta

Indonesian Ambassador Tantowi Yahya has dismissed allegations that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had acted disrespectfully toward Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern by declining to speak in public during last week’s state visit to New Zealand.

His statement was a response to a commentary in The New Zealand Herald by political editor Audrey Young, who painted Jokowi’s visit as “shameful” because the President reportedly “failed to present himself in some manner to the public of New Zealand”.

Indonesian Ambassador to NZ Tantowi Yahya … NZ Herald artIcle “distortion of the truth”. Image: Asian Forum

In the written statement sent to The Jakarta Post yesterday, Tantowi said the decision for the two leaders not to hold a joint press conference was, in fact, proposed by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and adopted unanimously.

READ MORE: Visiting leaders show disrespect, says Audrey Young

Young claimed in her column that the MFAT proposed a joint conference, but “the Indonesians declined”.

Tantowi said the two sides had agreed to publish a joint statement that reflected the results of the leaders’ talks on their respective online portals.

-Partners-

“As guests, we respect the position taken by our host. We fully supported [the proposal], as there was nothing wrong with it,” Tantowi said.

“We were very satisfied with the level of service and attention, as well as the warm welcome that the government of New Zealand has afforded us.”

President Jokowi’s visit to New Zealand on March 18-19 was the first by an Indonesian leader in 13 years, and marked 60 years of diplomatic relations. The two nations agreed to upgrade their ties to a comprehensive partnership, and committed to increasing two-way trade to NZ$4 billion (US$2.9 billion) by 2024.

Testament to hard work
The success of the visit, Tantowi said, was a testament to the hard work and thorough preparations that both sides expended.

However, the backlash arising from Young’s comments on President Jokowi prompted the Indonesian Embassy in Wellington to protest strongly and demand clarification over the report, which the ambassador lambasted as “baseless” and a “distortion of the truth”.

The commentary claims that the President reportedly declined to meet with the press and to give a statement following bilateral talks with Prime Minister Ardern on March 19.

“The author took this as a sign of disrespect on the part of President Jokowi; that’s a very pretentious thing to say,” said Tantowi.

“As president of the third largest democracy in the world, Joko Widodo upholds freedom of expression and independence of the press,” the statement said.

Widodo ‘short-changed’ NZ
Meanwhile, West Papua Action Auckland spokesperson Maire Leadbeater defended columnist Young, saying President Widodo had “short-changed New Zealand by his public silence”.

In an open letter to the Herald, she said:

“Audrey Young is right; Indonesian President Widodo short-changed New Zealanders by his public silence, a poor start to celebrations for New Zealand and Indonesia’s 60 years of diplomatic relations, or ‘Sixty years as friends for good’.

“In 1960, before Indonesia took over West Papua, Prime Minister Walter Nash proposed that the two halves of the New Guinea Island should be placed under joint trusteeship and prepared for eventual independence as one country.

“He did not prevail, but he stood up to the Indonesian Ambassador who came over from Canberra to remonstrate with him. His idea had merit and Papuan leaders still talk wistfully about one united country: West Papua and Papua New Guinea, ‘from Sorong to Samarai’.

“Since then from a West Papua perspective, there has been little good about the relationship. In the remote Asmat region dozens of children died recently from a combination of measles and malnutrition. This kind of health and environmental neglect added to such crimes as extrajudicial killings has led academics to use the term ‘slow genocide’.

“New Zealand needs to be friends with the powerless as well as the political elite and territorial integrity should not be allowed to trump genocide.”

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

OPINION: Mackenzie Smith reviews two months living in Indonesia as a journalist.

In Indonesia, I expected to broaden my understanding and realisation of Asia and its importance to New Zealand. And in a way I did. But more than anything, the experience reinforced for me why engaging with and respecting the Pacific is paramount for New Zealand.

My first week at AFP news agency’s Jakarta bureau coincided, tragically, with the deaths of as many as 100 people, mostly toddlers, in Papua from a measles outbreak.

The crisis, sparked by poor conditions and increasing local reliance on imported foods, represented “decades of neglect” by Indonesia following its annexation of the region.

READ MORE: West Papua protest during Jokowi’s visit to NZ

AFP committed significant resources to covering this, including sending a team of reporters to a remote Papuan village. Along with assistance from us folks that manned the fort in Jakarta, they produced what I believe was the definitive coverage of that health crisis.

It was genuinely humbling to be a part of. Papua, after all, has faced decades of neglect from the international media too, New Zealand included.

-Partners-

While RNZ Pacific does a fantastic job, it is not enough and, as pointed out by some, it is too partisan at times.

Diversity is needed when we cover events of international significance. Yet Papua is of particular and unique significance to New Zealand.

Siding with colonial past?
Having played a key role in the decolonisation of the Pacific, if we cannot continue this, including by acknowledging Papua as a Pacific and Melanesian nation, then surely we are siding with our colonial past (and present).

New Zealand’s foreign policy is changing dramatically, and not just under the direction of a new government in place.

As recent speeches by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have indicated, policy shifts towards the Pacific are motivated at least partly by the increasing sway Asia has there.

And although veiled references to China were highlighted by analysts, its long arm is not the only one in play in the Pacific.

There is a need now to be more savvy than ever towards Asia, if only for the sake of the Pacific. And for all the importance of politics in setting the pace of national dialogue, journalists too play a significant role.

The New Zealand media’s restraint, for example, in covering revelations of China’s political influence activities from Anne-Marie Brady has been remarkable. Just look at Australia, they are going nuts over there.

The media certainly prodded officials during the government’s recent Pacific tour over China’s growing influence there but it was a long way from the “roads to nowhere” white elephant rhetoric coming from across the ditch.

Hope for Asia-Pacific voices
There is hope for how we cover the Asia-Pacific and for the voices we give air to.

So it feels like a good time to arrive back as an “Asia-savvy” journalist – savviness being a term I share the Asia New Zealand Foundation’s fondness for – but an even better time to be a Pacific-savvy journalist.

While both regions demand our attention, one neighbours us and one we sit in. How the two interact will define New Zealand’s foreign policy mandate for the foreseeable future.

There was no happy resolution to Papua’s health crisis; it merely petered out, media coverage in its final days giving way to the detainment of a rather foolhardy journalist who had set out to cover it, rather than the real issues at hand.

And, as observers told AFP, the deaths are doomed to be repeated unless drastic action is taken.

The day before Indonesia declared the crisis over, in an unrelated incident a 61-year-old woman was shot dead by military police in Papua.

As the Foundation’s Pip McLachlan has pointed out, “we need to talk about Asia”. But we also need to talk about the Pacific.

Mackenzie Smith spent six weeks working in Jakarta on the Australian Consortium for In-Country Indonesia Studies Journalism Professional Practicum. His participation was funded by the Asia New Zealand Foundation’s media programme. Views expressed are personal to the author.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk

An advocacy group, West Papua Action Auckland, has urged Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to raise human rights and the “suffering of the people” of Indonesian-ruled West Papua when she meets with President Widodo on Monday.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, the leader of the largest economy in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with two-way trade worth NZ$1.76 billion last year, will arrive in New Zealand tomorrow for a two-day visit.

The West Papua action group says in a statement released by spokeswoman Maire Leadbeater:

Our Melanesian neighbours in West Papua are suffering grievously and must not be overlooked for the sake of “good relations” or markets for our goods.

For 55 years West Papuan people have been seeking freedom from repressive military rule, imposed on them in a scandalously unfair process. The loss of life is estimated to be at least 100,000.

Even though the struggle is now mainly about peaceful protest, petitions and diplomacy – there is no let up in security force crack-downs.

In the last three years the police have adopted a strategy of arresting demonstrators en masse, and thanks to a police chief edict, organisations deemed “separatist” are denied the opportunity to hold any kind of gathering.

-Partners-

Blatant breach
This is a blatant breach of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Indonesia is a signatory.

Yanto Awerkion, a young activist who was promoting an petition calling for the UN decolonisation committee to become involved, has now spent over 9 months in jail on a treason charge. He will be released shortly – thanks to international pressure.

Last year the International Coalition for Papua documented 10 cases of extrajudicial killings, when the victims were either shot dead during security force operations or tortured to death in custody.

West Papuans say that they are experiencing “slow genocide” and this refers to the impact on their lives of marginalisation and environmental exploitation as well as to shockingly low standards of health and education.

In the remote Asmat area in the last few months there has been a devastating outbreak of measles which, coupled with malnutrition, took the lives of dozens of children.

There are a growing number of Pacific nations who are taking a stand in support for West Papuan self-determination.

So far New Zealand has not supported their initiatives in regional forums and at the United Nations.

So this meeting with President Widodo will be a timely opportunity for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her ministers to demonstrate that New Zealand does support fundamental rights and freedoms, and that principle and compassion have not been forgotten.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has called for more action about the health crisis facing Asmat regency in Indonesian-ruled Papua.

The commission has blamed the Indonesian government “for this considerable loss of life”.

“The current efforts to address the problem are simply too little, too late,” it said in a statement from Hongkong.

So far, 68 children have died from measles and serious malnutrition in Asmat.

As reported by national media in Indonesia, the measles and malnutrition epidemic has affected 11 districts of Asmat regency: Swator, Aswi, Akat, Fayit, Pulau Tiga, Kolf Branza, Jetsy, Pantai Kasuari, Safan, Unirsarau, and Siret.

“Being the most remote areas of Asmat regency, victims in these districts have faced serious difficulties in obtaining access to medical facilities,” the AHRC statement said.

“Even in the regency’s capital, Agats, the Agats General Hospital (RSUD) is not equipped to deal with all the patients of measles and malnutrition.”

Patients in church
A category D hospital with limited facilities, paramedics and doctors, the hospital at present needed more medicine due to limited stock, and due to limited space, some patients have been hospitalised in the nearest church building, the AHRC statement said.

This circumstance showed how Papua had been left behind in terms of health facilities, infrastructure and development.

In Jakarta, Java island or other islands such as Sumatra and Bali, there were numerous public and private hospitals of type B and A, easy to access, the statement said.

Papua mostly has public hospitals of type D, especially in remote areas. There is a category A hospital in Jayapura city, the capital of Papua, but it is quite far from Agats and to reach Jayapura from Agats is not easy due to the lack of infrastructure.

“This situation clearly highlights how neither the central government of Indonesia in Jakarta, nor the local government in Papua province and Asmat regency have been able to develop an early warning system to prevent measles and malnutrition.”

The AHRC said it was concerned that the epidemic could easily spread to other places in Papua, particularly in remote areas lacking in health facilities.

Since Papua was integrated into the Republic of Indonesia in 1969, Papua has remained the poorest and least developed province.

Citizens’ rights
As a state party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Indonesia was obligated to:

• ensure its citizens’ rights to be free from hunger;
• address the prevention, treatment and control of epidemic, endemic, occupational and other diseases; and
• create conditions which would assure medical attention to all.

Similarly, national laws such as Law No. 36 of 2009 guaranteed the right to equal health access for all citizens, the AHRC said.

The commission said it viewed the current lack of health access and facilities in Papua – and the deaths of 68 children – as a clear violation of the Indonesian government’s responsibility towards its citizens.

“By not developing equal health care in Papua, the government is to blame for this considerable loss of life. The current efforts to address the problem are simply too little, too late,” the statement said.

The AHRC said the government should immediately announce a health emergency in Papua and open access for medical aid, including international medical support. It should also allow access to the media to ensure accountability and to monitor the eradication of the epidemic.

The government also needed an affirmative action policy to boost development of health access in Papua.

Priority for Papua
The assistance from the central government should not merely be limited to eradicating disease in Asmat regency, but should ensure that remote areas in Papua received priority in development of health access, facilities and infrastructure, the statement said.

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), the Minister of Health and Ombudsman of Republic of Indonesia, the House of Representatives, in particular Commission IX which concerns health, food and medicines, should take initiatives to monitor, evaluate and ensure the implementation of such policies, the AHRC said.

Local government should also open access for NGOs and media to monitor the recovery and development in remote areas.

The AHRC also urged the government to comprehensively ensure that all children, including pregnant mothers in Papua, particularly in Asmat regency, were given enough nutrition, food, and vaccines to prevent disease.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz