Ensure Access to Assistance in Disaster-Prone Areas, MoSA Alerts Social Granaries

JAKARTA (September 8, 2023) - To improve preparedness in disaster management, Ministry of Social Affairs is preparing a social granary. Social Affairs Minister Tri Rismaharini has initiated the establishment of social granaries in disaster-prone and difficult-to-access areas, including frontier, outermost, and least developed regions (3T).

The preparation of a social granary is intended so that people living in disaster areas can still access assistance. For this reason, Ministry of Social Affairs ensures the availability of logistics in disaster-prone zones.

"When a disaster occurs, the step we take is to ensure that all logistics warehouses, especially social granaries are in the area and are fulfilled or sufficient (logistics stock)," said Acting Director of Social Protection for Victims of Natural Disasters of Ministry of Social Affairs Adrianus Alla at Salemba 28 Forum with journalists in Jakarta, Thursday (7/9).

He cited his experience when he directly handled the landslide disaster in Serasan Island, Natuna Regency, Riau Islands, last March.

Due to the absence of social granaries to store logistics stocks around the area, it takes longer to be able to send aid due to difficult access to the affected locations.

"We don't have a social granary on Serasan Island. When a landslide occurs, we must send assistance from two nearby locations, namely from Riau Islands and West Kalimantan. This is very difficult for us," he said.

Another case, he continued, was the handling of the earthquake disaster that hit the Mentawai Islands Regency, West Sumatra, a month later in April.

"Access to Mentawai Island is also quite difficult from Padang City, but because of the social granaries, when an earthquake occurs, people can survive in the area," said the bespectacled man.

The readiness and availability of logistics in social granaries around the area, said Adrianus, can help affected victims survive. "At least, two to three days until assistance arrives, especially if access to the location is difficult to reach," he explained.

In response to this difficulty, he said that he would strive to establish at least two or three social granaries in each region, especially the 3Ts.

"We have thousands of 3T islands which, if not immediately facilitated with social granaries, we will have great difficulty sending assistance when a disaster occurs because there are no logistical supplies in the area. We strive for not just one, but at least two or three social granaries," he said.

The social granary contains basic community logistics needed during a disaster, such as ready-to-eat food, children's food, blankets, mattresses, adult clothing, and children's clothing.

"This includes tents, both multipurpose and family tents, generators, and other supporting materials," he explained.

Even so, Ministry of Social Affairs still pays attention to the local wisdom that applies in the region. "Like in Papua, because people in Papua consume pigs, the social granaries there, besides being filled with logistics, we also fill them with pigs. We adjust the local wisdom of the region," he said.

In addition, the disaster risk index is also considered in determining the location of the social granaries. "The location of the social granary will be in the center of the region. For example, in District A, we will place it in a village that is the central point of district," he explained.

To date, there have been 532 social granaries in 28 provinces across Indonesia. They are spread across 159 regencies/cities and 590 districts.