The Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection has said it will provide assistance to women and children evacuated from disaster-hit areas that local governments cannot handle.

“When a local government cannot handle them (women and children evacuees) itself, and they need us, we will come,” assistant deputy of child protection for special conditions at the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection, Elvi Hendriani, said when contacted by ANTARA here on Friday.

For regions that are able to handle the evacuees, the ministry will coordinate and provide instructions via telephone and messages, she informed.

Hendriani then listed several actions that local governments must perform for dealing with disasters, including collecting data on women and children staying at temporary shelters and establishing women- and child-friendly posts.

“Women- and child-friendly posts serve as a place for women and children to make a complaint and to ensure assistance and coordination between institutions involved in the protection of women and children,” she explained.

When a flash flood struck Batu City in East Java, the local government was able to install a women- and children-friendly post, allowing the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection to coordinate the necessary tasks, she said.

As one of the efforts to increase the number of trained human resources in disaster management, the ministry is providing training to volunteers, Hendrani informed.

The ministry has held four technical training sessions for volunteers so far this year, she said.

Source: Antara News