In the Eastern Nusa Tenggara Province of Indonesia services for pregnant and new mothers are poor and as a result both maternal and child mortality rates are high. One of the reasons many women do not receive adequate healthcare and advice is because the geography of Indonesia means thouands of people live in remote villages many miles from the nearest public health facility.
For this reason VSO has become a key partner in an innovative initiative called Desa Siaga or ‘Alert Village’. Desa Siaga works to ensure communities in remote villages can help women during pregnancy, delivery, and the early stages of their child’s life. Five networks - notification, transport, health saving, blood donor, and family planning – work together to not only respond in an emergency but offer day-to-day advice on essential healthcare.
People who work in the networks receive training from VSO health volunteers in basic healthcare skills. They are also provided with government information and guidelines that help them offer advice to village women on how to care for themselves and their babies.
Pak Yohanis Siubelan from Nefokoko Village told VSO about what Desa Siaga means to him.
'I'm the village facilitator for Desa Siaga, which started here in June 2007. I provide information and encouragement for breastfeeding mothers and women who haven’t yet joined the family planning programme. I also help document numbers relating to children who are suffering from malnutrition.
Before Desa Siaga, pregnant mothers experienced a lot of problems. Before, it was tradition that women who had just given birth would have to spend almost a month in the Rumah Bulat (traditional round house made with a large thatched roof) but these houses have little ventilation, and the cooking is also done in this small area. The mother would also be covered in steaming hot towels, which means she is constantly hot.
But since Desa Siaga, the local government has given information and encouragement to change this tradition, as there is a health risk to the mother from the heat and lack of ventilation. The community is enthusiastic, and each month there is an agreement with the community to collect funding for any sick children.
My wife delivered her fourth child recently, but there were complications with the placenta. We used money from the Desa Siaga fund to take her to the local clinic. She and our baby are now fine. I now understand more about health issues. For the future, I hope this project continues, and I hope to remain as a facilitator. We now need to encourage other communities to get involved so that everyone can see the benefits.
