INDONESIA: WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION SAY 200,000 PEOPLE IN ACEH PROVINCE COULD DEVELOP SEVERE DEPRESSION FOLLOWING TSUNAMI DISASTER

Record ID: 643509

  • Title: INDONESIA: WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION SAY 200,000 PEOPLE IN ACEH PROVINCE COULD DEVELOP SEVERE DEPRESSION FOLLOWING TSUNAMI DISASTER
  • Date: 26th January 2005
  • Summary: (BN09) JAKARTA, INDONESIA (JANUARY 25, 2004) (REUTERS) 1. WHO OFFICIAL SITTING DOWN; MEDIA 2. MV WHO OFFICIALS TALKING PRIOR TO NEWS BRIEFING 3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) DOCTOR BENEDETTO SARACENO, DIRECTOR OF WHO OFFICE FOR INTERNATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE, SAYING: "There were four million people in Aceh province. We may expect that almost half a million will experience something that will need psycho social support and probably up two hundred thousand or more will may require in the future psychiatric care." 4. NEWS BRIEFING TAKING PLACE 5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) SARACENO, SAYING: "We expect as well that certain numbers of psychiatric disorders will increase. We expect that people will suffer from severe depression, generalized anxiety, sleep disorder. We we may also witness some increase in suicide attempts." 6. JOURNALIST ASKING QUESTION 7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) SARACENO, SAYING: "I am also expecting some of the more vulnerable population, I am thinking mostly of children for instance, may have a more problematic future life in terms of resilience." 8. END OF NEWS BRIEFING 1.52 (BN09) BANDA ACEH, ACEH PROVINCE, INDONESIA (FILE) (REUTERS) 9. SLV DISPLACED CHILDREN AT MAKESHIFT SCHOOL IN A REFUGEE CAMP FOLLOWING THE ASIAN TSUNAMI; CHILDREN DRAWING PICTURES AND HOLDING THEM UP (12 SHOTS) 3.00 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 10th February 2005 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: JAKARTA AND BANDA ACEH, ACEH PROVINCE, INDONESIA
  • Country: Indonesia
  • Reuters ID: LVA48DXYXQ6EITUCHX24HKT826CX
  • Story Text: World Health Organisation say 200,000 people in Aceh
    province could develop severe depression following the tsunami.

    World Health Organisation (WHO) officials said on
    Tuesday (January 25, 2005) that up to 200,000 people in Aceh
    province alone, could develop severe depression and other
    long-term mental health disorders following the devastating
    tsunami.

    With immediate food and medical needs being met,
    Indonesia is likely to see a surge in psychological
    problems among tsunami survivors in the next month,
    including suicide attempts and domestic violence, officials
    said.

    Tens of thousands of people across the Indian Ocean
    region lost relatives and friends when a magnitude nine
    earthquake off Indonesia's Sumatra island triggered a
    tsunami that crushed coastal villages and swept people into
    the sea. As many as 234,000 people were killed.

    Dr. Benedetto Saraceno, director of the Department of
    Mental Health at WHO headquarters in Geneva, said about 50
    percent of survivors may suffer some short-term mental
    health problems.

    "There were four million people in Aceh province we may
    expect that almost half million will experience something
    that will need psycho social support and probably up two
    hundred thousands or more will may require in the future
    psychiatric care," Saraceno told reporters at a news
    conference.

    "We expect as well that certain numbers of psychiatric
    disorders will increase. We expect that people will suffer
    from severe depression, generalized anxiety, sleep
    disorder, we may also witness some increase in suicide
    attempts," said Saraceno.

    Saraceno also added that he expected that children
    would make up a large portion of those affected.

    "I am also expecting some more vulnerable population, I
    am thinking mostly of children for instance, may have more
    problematic future life in terms of resilience," he added.

    Indonesia's hardest-hit area, Aceh province, has about
    four million people and only five psychiatrists.

    With a population of 220 million people, Indonesia has
    only 500 psychiatrists, while the United States, with 293
    million people, has "tens of thousands," WHO officials said.

    Health officials plan a study of mental health needs in
    the next month in Aceh, the province at the northern tip of
    Sumatra island where more than 170,000 were killed by the
    tsunami.

    Local health care providers will be trained to
    recognise and deal with the expected epidemic.


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