Toddlers in Mt Kelud Refugee Camps Need Ready-to-Drink Milk

By Azi Fitriyanti Jakarta (Antara) - Toddlers in Mount Kelud refugee camp need ready-to-drink milk, instead of formula milk due to water hygiene concern, Disaster Emergency and Relief (DERM) team said. According to press statement, made available for Antara here on Sunday, Director of Disaster Management Institute of Indonesia (DMII) Insan Nurrohman, the NGO which manages DERM team in Mount Kelud area, Kediri East Java, said the milk for toddlers which are available at the camp were the formula powder, which needs water to process it in prior to consuming. "We can't give formula milk to the toddlers since the water hygiene after the eruption is out of standard and might cause stomach disease," Nurrohman said. Besides ready-to-drink milk, toddler refugees were also needed diapers, cough syrup, paracetamol, and other medicines. While, other logistic which urgently needed by refugees are sanitary pads for women, mineral waters, eye drops, and masks. "They also need blankets and mats since most of the camps were built outdoor," Nurrohman added. DMII plans to build toilet facilities at the camps when the funds were collected, meanwhile now they were strengthening the health services, trauma healing services for children and public kitchens. Up to Sunday, DMII reported there are 56,089 refugees of Mount Kelud's eruption that spread at 89 refugee camps in Kediri District (10,895 people, 38 camps), Batu City (11,084 people, 26 camps), Blitar District (8,193 people, 3 camps), Malang District (25,150 people, 17 camps), and Jombang District (767 people, 5 camps). East Java Governor Soekarwo stated the emergency status will be in effect between February 13 and March 12, 2014, and the authorities had provided 350 thousand masks to the residents. Because of the volcanic ash spewed from Mount Kelud, schools in Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Surakarta, Wonosobo, and Blitar have been forced to shut down. Besides this, the Indonesian transportation ministry announced three international airports: Djuanda in Surabaya (East Java), Adi Sucipto in Yogyakarta, and Adi Soemarmo in Solo (Central Java), were closed until Monday, due to the volcanic ash rain.(*)