Effect of the September 2009 Sumatra Earthquake on Reproductive Health Services and MDG 5 in the City of Padang, Indonesia. (March 2015) - Djafri, Defriman
Indonesia has been making good progress in reproductive health (RH) outcome. This study aimed to examine the effect of the September 2009 Sumatra earthquake on availability and accessibility of RH services and its possible impact on local Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Twenty-six health facilities in Padang City were reviewed and 667 clients directly interviewed. Water supply shortage was most widespread and slowest to recover, taking more than 1 year to normalize. Antenatal and emergency obstetric care was minimally disrupted, and family planning practice of the study couples was not changed by the earthquake. The previous rate of improvement in maternal and child mortality was slowed down, whereas stillbirths increased after the earthquake. Thus, there is a need to speed up the recovery to achieve the local MDGs.