31-7-2023 (JAKARTA) Indonesian authorities are set to send aid to remote areas of eastern Papua this week, as thousands of people face hunger brought on by drought. The chief of the country’s disaster agency, Suharyanto, announced on Monday that food, milk, and other aid would be sent to the region on Wednesday. Access to the area is difficult due to its challenging terrain, and armed separatists pose a threat. Six people have died in the mountainous Puncak district in Central Papua since June due to a snowy season that was followed by a prolonged dry season that hit crops.
According to Suharyanto, Puncak residents suffer from drought every year, but this year’s situation is more extreme, with some people dying of hunger. Last year, four people died of hunger in the same region due to drought caused by climate change. President Joko Widodo instructed authorities to resolve the problem in Central Papua, stating that “that is a specific area that during snow season… no crops can grow”.
Puncak, which is near the highest mountain in Indonesia, is rich in gold, copper, timber, and natural gas. However, Papua remains one of the poorest and most underdeveloped regions in Indonesia, despite its abundance of natural resources.
Papua has been the site of a low-level, but increasingly deadly, battle for independence since it was controversially brought under Indonesian control in a vote overseen by the United Nations in 1969. The region is expecting a severe dry season this year due to the impact of the El Nino weather pattern, which threatens harvests and raises the risk of forest fires.
