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MANILA, PHILIPPINES - A US$2 million grant from ADB's Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR), financed by the Government of Japan, will help improve the health status of the tsunami-affected population in Aceh, Indonesia.

The health and nutrition status of the population was already a cause of concern even before the December 2004 tsunami disaster that left more than 130,000 dead. Following the disaster, there are even higher rates of diarrheal diseases, nutrition status is declining, malaria is an increasing threat, and there is almost a complete lack of basic social services.

"While relief interventions were important in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, they need to be replaced as soon as possible by community-led rehabilitation services," says Karin Schelzig Bloom, an ADB Poverty Reduction Specialist (Social Development).

The grant will help increase awareness on major diseases such as malaria, diarrhea, acute respiratory infections, and malnutrition, especially among groups at risk such as pregnant and lactating women and children under five years of age.

It will achieve this by training health providers such as nutritionists, nurses, and midwives, as well as teachers and religious leaders in health and nutrition promotion. Nutritionists will be given refresher trainings and health and nutrition education for school-age children will be conducted.

The grant will also enable the affected population, including internally displaced people, to help themselves. Community organizations will be trained and mobilized on health promotion, and mothers will be trained on growth monitoring and maternal nutrition.

Under the project, radio and traditional story telling will be used for health promotion. Motorcycles, radios, personal hygiene kits, treated bed nets, and micronutrient supplies will also be distributed.

"Health and nutrition promotion activities are not only essential for complementing and reinforcing ongoing health and nutrition programs, but also contribute to long-term strategy as they enhance people's capacity to make informed health care decisions," adds Ms. Schelzig Bloom.

The project will be carried out in Banda Aceh and the three districts of Aceh Besar, Aceh Barat, and Aceh Utara, which were chosen because of their high population density and large numbers of internally displaced people.

It complements activities under the health component of the ADB's Earthquake and Tsunami Emergency Support Project and ADB's Decentralized Health Services Project.

The Government will contribute $130,000 toward the project's total cost of $2.12 million. The Ministry of Health is the executing agency for the project, which will be carried out over about 18 months.

JFPR was set up in 2000 with an initial contribution of Y10 billion (about $90 million), followed by additional contributions of $155 million and a commitment of $50 million. In January 2005, the Government of Japan announced the provision of an additional $20 million through its trust funds at ADB to support relief measures in areas devastated by the 2004 tsunami.