FPH UI Discusses Community-Based Climate Change Emergency Response in Semol Series 4

Disasters due to climate change have a devastating impact on human health. For this reason, the Environmental Health Masters Program, Faculty of Public Health (FPH) Universitas Indonesia (UI) held an online seminar entitled “Emergency Response of Climate Change: Community Based WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) Intervention” on Saturday, June 24, 2023. “Water, sanitation and hygiene are needed in a disaster. This community-based intervention is one of the efforts to deal with disasters caused by climate change. It doesn’t only depend on the government, but the community can also work together in an emergency,” said Dr. Ir. Asih Setiarini, M.Sc., Deputy Dean for Education, Research and Student Affairs FPH UI in his opening remarks.

Head of the BMKG Applied Climate Information Service Center, Dr. Ardhasena Sopaheluwakan, presented material on “Climate Change, Disaster Risk, and Applied Climate Services in Indonesia”. The world’s temperature is increasing every year. Until now, 2016 was recorded as the year with the highest temperature. However, given the current conditions, it is predicted that 2024 will be the hottest year the world will experience. “In previous years, the world has held the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement. One of the agreed points is that we must limit the increase in world temperature to below 1.5°C. But, the increase in world temperature is predicted to reach 1.5°C in 2032-2050. This agreement also does not have a positive effect on CO2 concentrations,” said Dr. Ardhasena. In Indonesia alone, hydro-related disasters tend to claim more lives, while geophysical-related disasters tend to cause greater economic losses.

Air pollution and climate change are touted as the number one global threat to health. Climate change, such as increasing temperature, extreme weather, rising sea levels, and increasing CO2 concentrations have many adverse effects on health. Diseases that occur a lot include vector-borne diseases (malaria, dengue), respiratory diseases, cholera, diarrhea, asthma, heart disease, injuries, and others. This can happen because temperature and rainfall affect the increase in the prevalence of disease, reduce worker productivity, and can lead to disasters,” explained Dr. Perdinan, Ph.D., MNRE, Head of Diaspora Department DPP HA IPB, Deputy Director of SEAMEO BIOTROP, and Lecturer at Bogor Agricultural University (IPB).

Furthermore, Wahyu Akbar M.E as PMI Deputy Secretary for Palangka Raya City and the PMI WASH Team then presented material on “WASH in Indonesia and the Impact of Climate Change”. WASH or Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene is an activity to ensure that people will have access to clean water, proper sanitation facilities, and will adopt clean behavior. WASH’s goal is to achieve better health and restore dignity, especially in disaster situations. Currently, WASH is also listed in the SPHERE Standard, a minimum standard guideline that must be met in a disaster situation. “Compliance with WASH is very important because it is stated in international laws and regulations. PMI itself has several WASH focus areas, namely emergency WASH, WASH development, public health WASH, and urban WASH,” said Wahyu. WASH intervention during an emergency is also divided into three stages, namely during the emergency response, the initial recovery period, and the recovery and development period.

Material on “Community Preparedness in Disaster Emergency Response Efforts in the WASH Sector” was then delivered by Ujang Dede Lesmana, BNPB Disaster Training Center Instructor & UIMA Lecturer. It could be floods, landslides, droughts, or forest and land fires. In essence, excess or lack of water can be a problem in society. Therefore, Indonesian society must be formed into a society that is strong and alert,” said Ujang. Community preparedness itself can be defined as a condition in which the community has the physical and psychological capabilities to face the threat of disaster. The success of community preparedness can be seen from early warning and its reactions, initial handling by the local community, disaster assessment, and maintained communication between the community and disaster relief agencies.

The seminar which was attended by 900 participants is expected to be able to build awareness and increase public knowledge of the importance of community-based interventions, especially in the case of disasters caused by climate change. (WR)