Indonesia is becoming a long-term hub for refugees, living in limbo without access to comprehensive healthcare. With many failing to receive necessary treatment over a period of years, the health implications are apparent, with the pandemic only making matters worse.
In Makassar, the fast-developing capital of Indonesia’s South Sulawesi province, refugees are protesting the rights-less limbo some have now been stranded in for a decade, with healthcare now high on the agenda as the pandemic grips the archipelago nation.
In mid-August, at least 40 Rohingya refugees, joined by local advocates, rallied at the legislative office in part to demand better access to medical care. Refugees under IOM have to go to a local public clinic, Puskisma, where they receive basic medicine for common illnesses at low cost. For refugees like Shiraj, medication is just not enough.
Shiraj had a medical examination on 15 July at Wahidin Hospital in Makassar. «IOM’s medical panel carefully assesses cases and refers patients with acute or chronic medical conditions to qualified health specialists for short/long-term medical treatments whenever available in the country,» they said. «These assessments are based on referrals by local community health centers or their attending physicians, and costs are covered through IOM’s programme».
Since the massive global outbreak of Covid-19 the rate of sickness has increased considerably, because more than anytime refugees living in IOM shelters are stressed and isolated
This article was written by JN JONIAD
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