Project HOPE is deploying a medical team to assess needs and support local responders in the aftermath of the September 28 earthquakes and tsunami in Indonesia. Hundreds have been confirmed dead and many more are injured. You can support our work at projecthope.org/indonesia.

Despite recent improvements in maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) in Indonesia, there remain significant disparities in access to quality MNCH services throughout the country, which can make a life-saving difference. Additionally, there is an urgent need for increased detection, management and treatment of respiratory diseases, such as asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases, which is one of the leading causes of death in Indonesia.

Since 2005, Project HOPE has been working with local government and community partners to improve access to skilled maternal, newborn, and child care, particularly in districts and regions where mortality remains high. Building on the success of these programs, HOPE began working with the Serang District Health Office in 2013 to train health center staff on Emergency and Obstetric Neonatal Care and to train community midwives on the package of Minimum Activities for Mothers and Newborns. The current program is supported by Johnson and Johnson through the Give to Asia Foundation and has already led to increases in prenatal, postnatal and neonatal care coverage as well as breastfeeding and vaccination rates.

Additionally, with support from AstraZeneca Indonesia, HOPE is working with the Indonesian Ministry of Health to reduce morbidity and mortality related to asthma in Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Lampung. The program is training health care providers, strengthening care facilities, and increasing awareness among patients and their families to support early detection and treatment of asthma.

Our History in Indonesia

Indonesia was the very first country reached by Project HOPE when we provided health care and education in 1960 during the maiden voyage of the SS HOPE.

In the early 1990s, HOPE began implementing health programs focused on strengthening the health workforce and improving health outcomes for women, newborns and children.

In 2004, HOPE responded to the tsunami by sending medical volunteers and supplies. We then remained to help rebuild the health systems in Aceh and Nias, focusing on MNCH, which continues to lie at the center of our work today.

Since 2005, Project HOPE has implemented highly successful MNCH programs in Banda Aceh, Nagan Raya, and Aceh Barat, reducing maternal and neonatal mortality by training health center staff and village midwives on basic and essential maternal and newborn care. At the conclusion of these initial MNCH programs, almost all health indicators had improved compared to the baseline and the project was successfully sustained by the local government.

In 2012, our programs expanded to support women in the workplace and to provide diabetes education for primary care physicians.