Neglected and Ignored

It’s feared that the death toll from a measles outbreak in the remote Indonesian province of Papua is much higher than previously reported.  Official figures say 68 children have now died - but church leaders say the real number could be in the hundreds. Children in the remote province are also suffering from malnutrition, and there has been an outbreak of chickenpox as well.

Ignored by health workers and government officials, many of the children were never immunised or given basic healthcare. And this is happening near the world's largest gold mine operated by the American company Freeport, Indonesia's largest taxpayer.

The Asmat tribe was hardest hit. The tribe's settlements in the south of Papua are far away from the nearest town and many Asmat people were forced to bury their children without seeing a doctor. Those who had canoes rowed to the nearest health post, but were sent away by health workers who seemed to lack commitment and the skills to help.

"We want doctors to come here and we want the government in Jakarta to send them because the provincial government has never visited us," Beorme told us. Aloysius Beorme lost his one-year-old son because he had no money to rent a boat.

Since Papua has been given wide-ranging autonomy, the area has been flooded with money, but much of it has allegedly disappeared into the pockets of local leaders and government officials. Efforts to bring economic progress to the region mainly benefited newcomers from other parts of Indonesia who started their small businesses, selling instant food that is now killing Papuan children. The Asmat traditionally live from sago palms. Before instant food had entered their villages the seminomadic tribe would spend months in the forest to make sago and find enough food to live. But instant noodles and energy drinks have become a much less time-consuming alternative for the Asmat who do not know much about nutrition. In Asatat, we saw children eating uncooked noodles and a baby drinking instant coffee.

A proposal by Indonesia President Joko Widodo to relocate the 100,000 Asmat people living in the area to a town near medical services was immediately rejected. Many believe this could be the end of the Asmat, who won't be able to survive living away from the forest and facing competition from newcomers. What the Asmat do need is to be able to strengthen their traditions that have benefited them for centuries and get real government care to prevent this tragedy from happening again.