GIS and Health Information Provision in Post-Tsunami Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam

Abstract

The large earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit the coast of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD), Indonesia in December 2004, was the cause of one of the largest natural disasters in recorded history. The health impact on coastal Acehnese community life was both immediate, with approximately 175,000 people either killed or missing, and also prolonged, with many health facilities destroyed and access to health professionals still severely restricted in many regions. Providing medical services and supplies to those in need, rebuilding health facilities and increasing the capacity of the NAD Government to provide ongoing medical services has been a daunting logistic and administrative task, requiring timely and accurate information. The information available to coordinate health recovery programs (much of which is spatial) has come from a variety of sources and been of variable accuracy and reliability. The United Nations Information Management Service (UNIMS) has worked with Provincial Government Departments, NGOs and other UN agencies for the last 14 months in Aceh, coordinating and validating much of this information and providing specialized advice and expertise to the humanitarian aid community to support planning and operational activities. This chapter describes the UNIMS experience, focusing on how it supported health related activities. It describes the many challenges of acquiring and disseminating information in an emergency situation and how spatial information and technology are now being used to support Health planning. Lessons learned over the past 16 months in Aceh can be applied to other emergency situations, such as an outbreak of avian flu or SARs.