Indonesian Red Cross Boosts Regional Preparedness for Disaster Response

JurnalPost.com - The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) is ramping up its capacity for disaster preparedness and humanitarian response, aiming to meet increasingly complex challenges both at home and across the region.

Ridwan Sobri Carman, head of PMI’s Disaster Management Division, said the effort aligns with Indonesia’s Law No. 1 of 2018 on the Red Cross, which mandates PMI’s role as an auxiliary to the government in disaster management — including overseas operations.

“PMI is not only present when disasters strike at home, but also actively supports cross-border humanitarian efforts. This is part of the humanitarian solidarity we continue to uphold,” Ridwan said during the Becoming Well Coordinated: Mutual Aid between National Societies webinar, hosted by the IFRC Asia Pacific in partnership with the American Red Cross on Sunday (Aug. 11).

Recently, PMI delivered $100,000 in humanitarian aid to the Myanmar Red Cross for earthquake relief, channelled through the Indonesian Embassy in Yangon. Previously, the organization also contributed logistics support sent via a government-operated Hercules aircraft from Jakarta’s Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base.

PMI has mobilized aid through regional and international mechanisms for crises including the Myanmar earthquake, the conflict in Sudan, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, as well as deploying experts to flood-hit Malaysia and Nepal, earthquake-affected Fiji, and other disaster zones requiring Indonesia’s contribution.

One example of complex international coordination, Ridwan said, was PMI’s humanitarian operation for the Palestine Red Crescent. “We ensure aid is well-coordinated through the Egyptian Red Crescent, designated by Egypt’s government to manage all assistance to Gaza, and work closely with IFRC and its delegation in Cairo before it’s sent to the Rafah border crossing — about 250 kilometers away,” he explained.

Preparedness, Ridwan stressed, is about more than equipment and protocols. “It’s about building human capacity, networks, and cross-border trust. With an official mandate and global connections, PMI is ready to lead humanitarian responses at home while strengthening solidarity regionally and globally,” he said.

As part of that effort, PMI has trained 100 IFRC-standard personnel ready for overseas deployment in disaster operations. Their expertise ranges from assessment and coordination to water and sanitation, cash-based assistance, emergency health, and temporary shelter.

Ridwan added that PMI will continue to strengthen partnerships and ensure every humanitarian operation is swift, precise, and focused on those most in need, with coordination across all levels and stakeholders.

The international webinar also featured Her Highness Tunku Puteri Intan Safinaz, national chairperson of the Malaysian Red Crescent Society as well as member of IFRC Governing Board and Achala Navaratne, global division director for Asia Pacific at the American Red Cross. The session was moderated by Annisa Marezqa of IFRC Asia Pacific. (AM)