Healing Tsunami's Mental Wounds: UNFPA Opens Counselling Centres in Aceh

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Four community-based psychosocial support centres opened last month to assist traumatized tsunami survivors and victims of violence in hard-hit sections of Aceh province.

The centres, supported by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, offer counselling through support groups, especially for women and youth, in Aceh Besar and Banda Aceh districts. Two more centres are to open in Meulaboh this month; two others will be set up in Aceh Jaya once security conditions improve.

UNFPA is working in partnership with the Mental Health Hospital of Banda Aceh (managed by the Indonesian Ministry of Health), the Indonesian Psychologists Association (known by its Indonesian acronym HIMPSI), and Flower Aceh and Fatayat NU, Islamic NGOs emphasizing reproductive health and women’s rights, among others.

Data on psychosocial conditions in Aceh consistently show that the need for counselling support in Aceh province is high. The World Health Organization estimates that as many as 500,000 people may be facing some degree of mental health problems as a result of the 26 December disaster, in which an estimated 90 per cent of all families lost one or more family members. The Provincial Health Office estimates that half the Acehnese population had already developed psychological disorders before the tsunami, due to the three-decades-long armed conflict there.

And in post-tsunami Aceh, women and youth need special attention. "Depression, combined with complete dependency on others, can make women and youth especially vulnerable to abuse and exploitation," notes the UNFPA Representative in Indonesia, Dr. Bernard Coquelin.

Each of the four centres—known as Rumoh Peusijuk Hatee, or heart-soothing home—is located near a camp for the displaced and a community health centre that provides reproductive health services for those who need them. The counselling centres are equipped with various religious books to support the healing process. Counsellors will refer patients to Aceh’s Mental Health Hospital for further treatment when necessary.

The centres draw on the experience of post-tsunami counselling provided up to now through a UNFPA-supported outreach programme. Counsellors will continue to travel to reach people in isolated communities.

"In most disasters we see a gradual transition, from problems in meeting basic needs, such as food and shelter to medical problems, psychological problems and then social problems," said Dr. Rahmat Ismail, Chairman of HIMPSI. "But this disaster was unique: all four occurred at the same time."

The centres, supported with $2 million in funds from the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO) and the Governments of Germany and Japan, are to operate until December.

In addition to psychological services, a broader variety of social support will be phased into the work of the centres. Women will be helped to develop income-generating skills, like cooking, sewing and brick making. "Income-generating activity is much needed because survivors also need to work. This is also part of the therapy," says Revo M. Putra, UNFPA’s psychosocial programme officer.

Staff at the centres, he adds, will also advocate for gender equality and human rights, targeting religious and community leaders and camp managers.

In addition to the psychosocial centres, UNFPA also supports the reestablishment of the Sakinah Family Centre managed by the National Family Planning Coordinating Board and a women’s centre run by the Provincial Women’s Empowerment Office. Both also offer counselling programmes.

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UNFPA, the world’s largest multilateral source of assistance for reproductive health and population programmes, is working to ensure that post-tsunami humanitarian efforts address the special needs of women and youth.

Contact Information:

Jakarta: Maria Endah, tel. +62 (0) 815 1157 6660 (mobile), mendah.unfpa@un.or.id

Bangkok: William A. Ryan, tel. +66 (0) 2 288 2446, ryanw@unfpa.org