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Jakarta Post

Government to only accept non-cash foreign aid for C. Sulawesi

The Foreign Ministry has briefed envoys from countries that have offered help following the earthquake and tsunami in Central Sulawesi that the Indonesian government will accept assistance in the form of supplies, expertise and equipment but suggested that cash donations be directed to the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI).

Dian Septiari (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Tue, October 2, 2018

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Government to only accept non-cash foreign aid for C. Sulawesi Desperate times: Earthquake survivors loot a warehouse in Mamboro in North Palu, Central Sulawesi, on Monday. Residents from North Palu to Donggala’s western coast have been looting warehouses and stores to obtain basic commodities as the humanitarian assistance they are in dire need of has yet to arrive to disaster-struck areas. (Antara/Muhammad Adimadja)

 

The Foreign Ministry has briefed envoys from countries that have offered help following the earthquake and tsunami in Central Sulawesi that the Indonesian government will accept assistance in the form of supplies, expertise and equipment but suggested that cash donations be directed to the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI).

On Monday evening, ambassadors from around  20 countries and representatives from international organizations met with Deputy Foreign Minister AM Fachir, who said the country had identified priorities for foreign assistance. 

“There are at least three forms of assistance, supplies, expertise and equipment, so we’re identifying them and if they want to help, they can let us know what they can offer,” Fachir told reporters after the meeting. 

The foreign aid, once compiled in an inventory by a team that reports to Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto, will be distributed through the relevant ministry channels into the region, with a number of officials stressing the need to vet what is “actually required”.

Meanwhile, he said the PMI was the best option to direct cash donations. “PMI is very reliable in distributing aid according to needs,” he said. 

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said in an assessment published on Monday that 191,000 people were in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit Central Sulawesi on Friday.

The earthquake, followed by several aftershocks, a tsunami and soil liquefaction, flattened buildings and killed upwards of 1,200 people, according to figures from the BNPB.

 

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