People of Asmat Need Assistance

Assistance to alter the lifestyle of people in Asmat, toward cleaner and healthier living is needed through long-term assistance.

Kompas/P Raditya Mahendra Yasa

People wait in line for healthcare services at Puskesmas Ayam, Akat district, Asmat regency, Papua, Friday (26/1). Health service and education remain the biggest problems in the province.

AGATS, KOMPAS – Assistance to alter the lifestyle of people in Asmat, Papua toward cleaner and healthier living is needed through long-term assistance.  Health and education workers will be needed to provide this assistance.

Lack of realization about the importance of clean and healthy living is one of the factors of health problems, such as the spread of infectious disease in Asmat. A resident of Suru-Suru dictrict, Asmat, Yohana Berpit, 40, said her children had not been taught to wash their hands before they ate. “After playing in the mud, they would eat straight away,” she said.