REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia's Health Ministry has planned to build a warehouse in Timika to store logistics and medicines to respond to the extraordinary condition of measles epidemic and malnutrition in Asmat district of Papua.

The ministry's head of Center for Health Crisis, Achmad Yurianto, said in a statement here on Thursday that the construction of the warehouse in Timika has become one of the agenda of the ministry in 2018, for efficiency in delivering logistics to tackle the epidemic. "We understand that for every extraordinary situation, response becomes a key issue," Yurianto stated.

A five-year-old boy suffered malnutrition. He is still being treated at Agats Regional Public Hospital, Asmat district, on Thursday (January 25).

A large amount of logistics would be useless if they cannot be delivered immediately, he continued. Therefore, Papua has to have two warehouses in Timika and Jayapura, he added. "This will become our next program."

Also read: Govt denies 15 thousand Asmat people malnourished

Currently, the ministry has only one warehouse in Jayapura, which stores 30 tons of logistics for measles and malnutrition handling.

As it would take some time to deliver the logistics to the remote district of Asmat, Health Minister Nila Moeloek has called for establishing a warehouse in Timika.

Minister of Health Nila DF Moeloek (left) accompanied by the Regent of Asmat Elisa Kambu (second left) oversee the inpatient hospital in Agats, Asmat District, Papua, on Thursday (January 25).

"We have abundant logistics; in our warehouse in Jayapura, we have 30 tons of biscuits for toddlers. The minister has decided that the warehouse would not only be centered in Jayapura but also in Timika," Yurianto noted.

The warehouse would be used to store medicines, biscuits for toddlers, additional food items, health devices, and other logistics to handle any extraordinary situation.

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