Indonesia Disburses US$68 Million In Central Aid To Combat Wildfires And Support Public Health

JAKARTA, Oct 22 – The Indonesian government has disbursed a second tranche of central aid totaling 1.235 trillion rupiah (approximately US$68 million) to intensify response operations against forest and land fires (karhutla), prioritizing medical care for affected communities.

Speaking in Jakarta on Thursday, October 22, 2026, Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Sugiono stated that the financial package focuses heavily on healthcare interventions to treat residents suffering from acute respiratory infections (ISPA).

“The funds will be used to distribute face masks and portable oxygen supplies, establish recovery facilities, and treat people suffering from acute respiratory infections,” Sugiono explained.

The aid allocation also covers the procurement of essential firefighting gear—including protective equipment, high-capacity water pumps, specialized hoses, and peatland water injectors—alongside logistics support and operational funding for frontline personnel.

Subianto Orders Accelerated Coordination Across Mobilized Units

Key operational measures and inter-agency efforts ordered by the central government include:

• Massive Personnel Deployment: Approximately 71,000 personnel—comprising military units (TNI), national police (Polri), disaster management officials (BNPB), and local volunteer brigades—have been deployed across active fire zones in Sumatra and Kalimantan.
• Aerial Firefighting & Cloud Seeding: Ground crews are supported by extensive aerial water-bombing operations and weather modification technology (cloud-seeding) utilizing dry ice to induce precipitation over dry peatlands.
• Presidential Mandate: President Prabowo Subianto issued direct instructions to all relevant ministries and regional authorities to accelerate field coordination and streamline relief delivery.
• Transboundary Haze Mitigation: The surge in central funding targets severe peatland blazes linked to agricultural land-clearing practices, which have generated widespread regional haze across Indonesia, Malaysia, and neighboring Southeast Asian nations.

The central government continues to coordinate with provincial health offices to set up emergency oxygen shelters and distribute protective gear in heavily impacted districts.

–NMT