Speed boat mobile clinics are vital for providing healthcare to isolated island communities in Papua, Indonesia.
Photo by Veronique Terrasse
Papua is home to a semi-nomadic people, who live in the thick tropical forest that covers large swathes of Agats. The harsh existence they lead poses numerous health risks, especially for children and pregnant women. First there in 2006 for a measles vaccination campaign, MSF now runs healthcare projects in partnership with the Ministry of Health making basic and emergency medical care more easily available for these isolated communities.
Using speed boats to access remote villages in the three sub districts of Akat, MSF's mobile clinic teams have conducted nearly 4,500 consultations. Remoteness and isolation are big logistical challenges for the teams in Papua, so the ambulance boats are really important for getting to people in need. However, MSF has gone a step further and established a network of community health workers in the villages to provide services for their villages.
Mobile clinic in Yepem, Papua.
Photo by Veronique Terrasse
For cultural reasons the villagers rarely seek healthcare and tend to leave it too late when they do. Because this is partly because they are unfamiliar with western medicines, MSF has strengthened its health promotion activities, which is vital in changing attitudes and gaining trust.
Additionally, teams organises training for government staff in complicated deliveries, sterilization of medical equipment, blood screening and safe blood transfusions. MSF has also rehabilitated a surgery and donated surgical and obstetrical material.