SEAToday.com, Jakarta - The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) has confirmed that a team of medical personnel from the Indonesian Government will serve for one month to assist the handling of earthquake victims in the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu.

BNPB Head Suharyanto said in a statement received on Saturday, that a total of 15 Indonesian medical personnel were dispatched to Vanuatu on Friday (27/12), and they have now arrived in the country.

The 15 medical personnel from the Indonesian Ministry of Health consist of specialists (surgery, orthopedics, internal medicine, anesthesia, and emergency medicine), general practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, and logistics experts.

The Indonesian medical personnel will serve for one month (January-February 2025). They are replacing the Australian emergency health team that is currently on duty in Vanuatu and will end on January 4, 2025.

“The emergency medical team (EMT) from the Ministry of Health will provide emergency medical care and supply medicines to affected residents who need treatment in Vanuatu,” he said.

He added that if conditions in the field still require medical personnel, the Indonesian Government will consider extending their service period.

This follows the emergency status set by the Vanuatu Government which is valid from December 17-24, 2024. It was reported that the earthquake in the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu on Tuesday (17/12) affected 80,000 people, including 14,104 children and 769 people with disabilities.

A total of 18 people died, 200 were injured, and 947 people fled to churches and houses in Manples, Britano, Kaweriki, and Kona.

Suharyanto emphasized that Indonesia's assistance to the Government of Vanuatu is a form of humanitarian solidarity and brotherhood between the two countries, including a form of the Indonesian Government's commitment to strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries, especially in the field of disaster management in the Pacific and Oceania regions