Since 2018, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) had been running programmes in Banten and the capital, Jakarta, focused on building local community links with health service providers and strengthening connections between health centres and local schools. The main goal was to improve the quality and availability of healthcare for adolescents, by offering health promotion and education sessions, as well as medical services.

As part of the project, we supported health centre staff to run adolescent-friendly health services, and strengthened their capacity through mentorship and training. We believe that providing high-quality health services for adolescents means involving them in a meaningful way, and we achieved this in Indonesia by implementing a peer-based approach.

At the end of 2022, we handed the project over to the local health centres and communities, and to the Ministry of Health.

Between 2020 and 2022, MSF undertook capacity-building activities for health workers, health volunteers, communities and other organisations to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. We also donated much-needed materials, including personal protective equipment and rapid antigen tests.

MSF’s COVID-19 activities ceased in March, due to a reduction in the number of cases and community transmission, and the expansion of vaccination coverage in Indonesia. However, we continue to monitor transmission, and the number of cases and related deaths. We stand ready to respond if needed as part of the emergency preparedness plan.

On 25 February, when a 5.0-magnitude earthquake hit the West Pasaman district of West Sumatra, our teams provided psychological first aid training to health centre staff and psychological support to people affected by the disaster.

At the end of the year, we launched our E-hub project, which aims to build the emergency response capacity of our staff and other organisations. We will also collaborate with the Ministry of Health Crisis Centre, from set-up in the local disaster area to coordination at national level.