Govt Sends Medical Interns and Begins Hospital Repairs in Disaster-Stricken Aceh

Jakarta: Indonesia’s Health Ministry is prioritizing repairs to damaged hospitals in Aceh and mobilizing intern doctors after President Prabowo Subianto ordered expanded medical deployment to areas hit by recent flash floods and landslides.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said 18 hospitals in Aceh were damaged and will undergo repairs, while hospitals in West Sumatra and North Sumatra remain operational.

“Doctors have been deployed across the three provinces to treat common post-flood illnesses, including skin infections, diarrhea, and acute respiratory infections,” he said as quoted from Antara, Tuesday 9 December 2025.

To bolster the response, the ministry is also distributing medical equipment and essential medicines to affected regions.

Sadikin said additional doctors will be assigned to 300 community health centers and to mobile health units serving hard-to-reach areas.

President Prabowo ordered the dispatch of intern doctors to help treat widespread post-disaster illnesses during a meeting with Sadikin in Aceh on Sunday, December 12.

The directive follows reports of medical-staff shortages in Sumatra, as many local doctors were also affected by the disaster and unable to work.

To support the deployment, Sadikin asked the Defense Ministry to send around 300 doctors from the National Defense Forces and the Police to supervise the interns.

He said the military and police doctors will guide and support intern physicians working in health facilities across the disaster zone.

Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said his ministry is ready to assist and has prepared additional emergency-response capabilities beyond standard defense equipment.