Assessment of health-related needs after tsunami and earthquake--three districts, Aceh Province, Indonesia, July-August 2005.

On December 26, 2004, an earthquake measuring 9.2 on the Richter scale off the northwest coast of the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, produced a tsunami that caused the deaths of an estimated 230,000 persons in India, Indonesia, the Maldives, Somalia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. The majority of casualties were in Aceh Province (population 4.5 million) in northern Sumatra, Indonesia, where an estimated 130,000 persons died. In addition, 500,000 persons were displaced from their homes, and 37,000 remain unaccounted for in the province. In the Aceh Province districts of Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar, an estimated 90,000 persons died; approximately 75% of health workers in Banda Aceh either died or were displaced from their homes. On March 28, 2005, a second major earthquake, measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale, caused large-scale damage to the islands of Simeulue and Nias off the western Sumatra coast; approximately 300 persons died, and thousands were displaced. The international community responded to these events with the largest relief measures ever undertaken for a natural disaster. To determine the health and nutrition status of the affected populations and to evaluate the effectiveness of relief interventions 7 months after the tsunami and 3 months after the second earthquake, Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere, Inc. (CARE) International Indonesia and CDC conducted surveys in three districts of Aceh Province (Aceh Besar, Banda Aceh, and Simeulue). This report summarizes the results of those surveys, which identified routine vaccinations and provision of toilets or latrines as particular areas for improvement and revealed no significant difference in health indicators between internally displaced persons (IDPs) and nondisplaced populations. The relief response in Aceh Province should target areas needing improvement with programs that serve both IDPs and nondisplaced persons, as measures are implemented to rebuild the public health infrastructure.