Located along the Pacific Ring of Fire, Indonesia is highly vulnerable to natural disasters. The 2023 World Risk Report (WRR) ranked Indonesia as the second most disaster-prone country in the world, with a disaster risk index of 43.4 percent. Indonesia’s geographic condition as an archipelagic country presents its own challenges in disaster emergency response efforts. CARE Indonesia (Yayasan CARE Peduli/YCP), in collaboration with the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) of South Sulawesi Province, is strengthening preparedness by providing, storing, and distributing prepositioned stock in disaster-prone areas.
Dr. Abdul Wahib Situmorang, CEO of CARE Indonesia, stated that CARE Indonesia is committed to supporting the rapid and appropriate fulfillment of basic needs for disaster-affected communities, with a focus on gender sensitivity and equal access for both women and men, as well as vulnerable groups.
“This collaboration also aims to enhance local emergency preparedness capacity and strengthen local humanitarian logistics and coordination mechanisms,” he said.
Abdul further explained that the effort to strengthen disaster preparedness distribution also involves local product and service providers who received training in Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain from CARE Indonesia, held from May 13 to 15, 2025. According to Abdul, capacity building is conducted to ensure quality, hygiene standard compliance, and content completeness according to CARE Indonesia’s specifications.
“We ensure that the emergency aid packages are designed with gender equality and the needs of vulnerable groups in mind. A total of 140 hygiene kits—containing buckets, bar soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, detergent, sanitary pads, jerry cans, and dippers—have been handed over to PMI South Sulawesi for storage in their warehouse. A maintenance fund of IDR 10 million was also provided,” Abdul explained.
Dr. Adnan Purichta Ichsan, SH., MH., Chairperson of PMI South Sulawesi, welcomed the collaboration, noting that this partnership provides a platform for knowledge sharing and strengthening joint efforts in managing logistics and emergency aid stocks. Adnan added that the distribution of aid packages, including hygiene kits, will be carried out in a targeted manner based on field assessments, taking into account community needs, particularly those of women and vulnerable groups in the event of a disaster.
“We will conduct periodic inspections of the items, including checking expiration dates and packaging conditions. Stock movement, including incoming and outgoing items as well as the remaining inventory, will be recorded,” he said.
Furthermore, Adnan explained that the partnership will run from May 2025 to December 2027, or until all packages have been distributed. “The distribution process will also be determined based on the emergency situation and the results of needs assessments,” he concluded.
