The Disaster Management National Agency of Indonesia (BNPB) is serious in following up results of the 5th Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, The Yogyakarta Declaration, encourages the strengthening of DRR implementation at the local level with the participation of the community, including vulnerable groups such as persons with disabilities, women, the elderly and children.
This was demonstrated by conducting the National Disaster Preparedness Rehearsal that was held on 18 to 23 November 2012 in the Palu City, Central Sulawesi. National Disaster Preparedness Rehearsal is regularly done by BNPB yearly in different province, but especially for this national rehearsal in Palu BNPB delivered key points of Yogyakarta Declaration, with expectation the key points of Yogyakarta Declaration could be implemented in the National Rehearsals at lease in the Academic Session and Table Top Exercise (TTX). One of the key points is protection and right fulfillment of vulnerable groups in disaster management.
BNPB invited ASB to participate in the National Disaster Preparedness Rehearsal by delivering presentation on Widening Participation Persons with Disabilities in Disaster Management in the academic session that was held on 19 November 2012 at the Swiss Bell Hotel Palu of Central Sulawesi. The academic session was attended by 135 participants from 30 organizations; government from municipal, provincial and national levels and non-governmental before the TTX on 20 November 2012.ASB explained about the importance of involving persons with disabilities as the most vulnerable groups in the disaster management from the preparedness planning, training until action to know what needs to be done and provide appropriate services. For example before a disaster we need to know who are the persons with disabilities that can be trained to conduct independent evacuations and who should assist persons with disabilities who cannot evacuate independently. Accessibility in the evacuation routes, assembly points and shelter also need to be provided alongside access to health service, water and sanitation and so forth. Also there may be a need to provide for basic needs and to replace assistive devices that may be broken or lost during a disaster.
The academic session proved to increase the awareness of participants to start thinking about things that have to be prepared to protect and fulfill the rights of persons with disabilities in disaster. It was seen from the plans delivered by the participants in the TTX. Among others, the Health Department of Palu City now has the data of persons with disabilities from Posyandu cadres in every village, in the future Health Department will share the data to Disaster Management Agency, Social Department, Public Works Department, Search and Rescue Agency and other stakeholders in Palu City for planning on the rights fulfillment of persons with disabilities in disaster.
Daily Executive Head of the Regional Disaster Management Agency of Palu City (BPBD Palu), Ahmad Kawaru mentioned “Now our challenge is to increase the awareness and capacity of the authorities on how to deal with persons with disabilities in disaster management. There is a lot of to learn from the event and we are starting from zero about the treatment for persons with disabilities, not only in disaster management, even in the daily life their right has not been noticed yet, for example accessibility in public places. We expect in the future BNPB can facilitate BPBD in capacity building on how to handling persons with disabilities in disaster management “.
One of the participants from local NGO JAMBATA also stated, ‘at this time we can only begin with making map of persons with disabilities include their disabilities in our village work area, but we have not actually involve them in planning and training due to our limitation of knowledge and capacity.’
Preparedness Director of BNPB , Ir. H. Medi Herlianto, CES, MM., mentioned that implementing TTX in Palu is not intended to test disaster planning in Palu, but still limited to the dissemination and awareness to stakeholders on matters to be prepared for disasters especially earthquake with tsunami. Because now preparedness plan in Palu is still very low, there are not even any sign boards and assembly points and shelter plan. Hopefully by conducting National Disaster Preparedness Rehearsals in Palu, governments, communities and businesses in the city of Palu will more motivated in making disaster management planning and more pay attention to the protection and fulfillment of rights of vulnerable groups.
Mr Wahyu Sulastomo, ASB DRR Coordinator Indonesia
