BANJARMASIN - Indonesia`s maternal mortality rate is still high as it is believed that almost every hour two Indonesian women die while giving birth, a senior family planning official said,

"If we add up the numbers, one can imagine how many Indonesian mothers die every day during delivery," Sudibyo, vice chief of the National Family Planning Agency (BKKBN), said here Tuesday at a meeting here with local ulema from throughout South Kalimantan.
 
He said according to a study on the quality of life of Indonesian people in 2011 the country`s maternal mortality rate was 228 per 100,000 successful deliveries. Meanwhile, the infant mortality rate among 0-11-month-old babies was 34 per 1,000 successful deliveries in a population of which 60 percent had only enjoyed elementary school or lower eduction and life expectancy was about 68/72 years.
"By comparison, in Japan the population`s life expectancy has reached 100 years so that now 40 percent of the population consists of senior citizens," he said.
 
In its efforts to increase Indonesia`s life expectancy and reduce the maternal mortality and infant mortality rates, the BKKBN was now holding training programs for 35,000 midwives, 10,000 general practitioners and gyneacologistsn. The programs were designed to increase their skill in helping women give birth but they were at the same time also being trained in contraceptive device implanting techniques, Sudibyo said.It was hoped that by increasing the number of midwives and doctors skilled in helping women give birth, deliveries in remote or isolated regions could be done in medical ways so that the maternal and infant mortality rates could drop.
 
The national target for maternal mortality rate reduction efforts for 2015 was to make the figure drop from 228 per 100,000 successful deliveries to 102/100,000 and the infant mortality to 23/1,000.

DENPASAR - A strong earthquake struck off the Indonesian island of Bali on late Thursday morning, seismologists said, collapsing a number of buildings and injuring dozens of people. There were no immediate reports of fatalities.

The 6.8-magnitude earthquake at 11.16 a.m. local time (0316 GMT) was centered about 100 kilometers (62 miles) southwest of Denpasar, the capital city of Bali. It struck about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to Indonesia's seismological agency (BMKG).  The United States Geological Survey (USGS), which measured the strength of the earthquake at 6.0 on the moment magnitude scale, estimated that some 641,000 people in the region may have felt moderate shaking. Another 4.6 million people may have felt light shaking.
Eyewitnesses said panicked residents and tourists fled the buildings they were in when the earthquake struck the region. A number of buildings were damaged and some collapsed, police said, injuring at least 46 people. There were no immediate reports of fatalities.
Neither BMKG nor the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning, although some people fled to higher ground or inland as a precaution. "[The earthquake has] no tsunami potential," a brief text message from BMKG said, giving no other details. Earthquakes below magnitude 7 do usually not generate tsunamis.
Indonesia is on the so-called 'Pacific Ring of Fire', an arc of fault lines circling the Pacific Basin that is prone to frequent and large earthquakes. Volcanic eruptions also occur frequently in the region.
On December 26, 2004, one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded struck off the west coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. The 9.1-magnitude earthquake unleashed a deadly tsunami, striking scores of countries in the region. In all, at least 227,898 people were killed.

Most recently, on October 25, 2010, a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck just off the Mentawai Islands off the western coast of Sumatra. As a result, a wall of water killed at least 435 people on the islands and impacted more than 20 villages.

The PAK Orphanage in Tanah Toraja on South Sulawesi is safe for volunteering.
 

MANADO - Thousands more evacuated on late Thursday evening when Mount Lokon in Indonesia's North Sulawesi erupted again in full force, triggering panic among locals, officials said on Friday.

Mount Lokon first erupted on Monday, leading to the evacuation of more than 2,100 people by Wednesday afternoon. The evacuation was carried out by North Sulawesi's Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), local authorities, the Indonesian Red Cross and military personnel.

But an explosive eruption on Thursday evening, at around 11.30 p.m. local time, forced nearly 5,000 others to flee the region around the volcano as panic spread. Officials have also opened another 15 evacuation shelters in addition to five others which were previously established.

Thursday's eruption sent volcanic ash up to 1,500 meters (4,921 feet) high and spreading hot lava to the slope. There were no immediate reports of casualties from the area, but one person was previously killed during an evacuation of residents near the volcano.

Officials have called on residents to keep calm and follow instructions announced by local officials and to not believe rumors. Lokon is located some 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) away from Manado, Sulawesi's second-largest city, and is located on the island's northern tip.

Dozens of active volcanoes in Indonesia are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, known for frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Next to Mount Lokon is its volcanic twin, Mount Empung, just 2.2 kilometers (1.3 miles) away.

One of Indonesia's most active volcanoes is Mount Merapi, which is located on the island of Java near Jogjakarta, the country's second-most visited area after Bali. Last year, more than 300 people were killed in a series of eruptions between October and November that also displaced over 300,000 people.
The PAK Orphanage Project is based in South Sulawesi and it’s on 2 days driving distance from the Lokon Volcano in North Sulawesi, which means the project is safe for our orphanage and volunteers in Sulawesi.

KENDARI - A strong earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on early Monday morning, seismologists said, causing some damage but no casualties. The 6.0-magnitude earthquake at 7.07 a.m. local time (2307 GMT Sunday) was centered about 75 kilometers (46 miles) south-southeast of Kendari, the capital of South East Sulawesi province. It struck about 18 kilometers (11 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to Indonesia's Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG). The United States Geological Survey (USGS), which measured the strength of the earthquake at 6.2 on the Richter scale, estimated that some 16,000 people may have felt 'severe' shaking that could potentially result in heavy damage. It estimated that some 369,000 others may have experienced 'strong' to 'very strong' shaking. As of Monday afternoon, the Jakarta Globe reported that some houses had been damaged on Sulawesi. "There are houses [which have been] damaged. People are panicking and have rushed out from their houses," one local official was cited as saying by the newspaper. There were no reports of casualties. Indonesia is on the so-called 'Pacific Ring of Fire', an arc of fault lines circling the Pacific Basin that is prone to frequent and large earthquakes. Volcanic eruptions also occur frequently in the region. On December 26, 2004, one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded struck off the west coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. The 9.1-magnitude earthquake unleashed a deadly tsunami, striking scores of countries. In all, at least 227,898 people were killed. Most recently, on October 25, 2010, a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck just off the Mentawai Islands off the western coast of Sumatra. As a result, a wall of water killed at least 435 people on the islands and impacted more than 20 villages.
Our PAK Project in Torajaland on South Sulawesi is safe, it's about 700 km from Kendari on Southeast Sulawesi!