Health
''Indigenous peoples have the right to access, without any discrimination, to all medical institutions, health services and
medical care."  As this booklet goes to press, reports are slowly filtering out of West Papua about what is claimed to be the worst drought of the century. Already more than 500 West Papuans have died of starvation, as the massive famine grips West Papua and PNG. Most of the West Papuan deaths have occurred in the Jawawijawa region, the central highlands area adjacent to the PNG border.Helicopter relief operations are being hampered by haze from forest fires that are burning out of control in the south of the province. Reports suggest that the fires are the result of burningoff by logging contractors. The food situation is expected to deteriorate further because it is too dry for the planting that should be happening now.
Highlanders in search of food are already making their way down' into the country of the Asmat in the south, where people are already short of food. There is potential for inter tribal warfare resulting from this. Because of the lack of rainfall, usual water sources in the south are tidal and brackish, and the staple food of wild sage is in short supply.
Although the Asmat country has river systems that allow a means of access to those regions, it appears that the Indonesian Government is not providing relief To date President Soeharto has refused to declare Irian Jaya a disaster area.
On 25th November 1997 the Australian  Government  pledged A$lmillion for famine relief.
West Papua's health status is generally the lowest in Indonesia and the problems of access to, and availability of, services, mean that a high proportion of the population remain under-served. The poor health is a result of a combination of many factors such as poverty, and lack of access to transport and communication, of participation by the people in decision making, and of control over resources. These factors are compounded by poor nutrition, inadequate water and sanitation systems, and the need for education in hygiene, emergency health care, and preventive care for reproductive health.
In a United Nations index which compared life expectancy, years of schooling, and purchasing power, Indonesia, of all the ASEAN countries, had the lowest quality of life.But statistics for West Papua are by far the lowest in Indonesia.
In the central highlands, which are comparatively densely populated, by tribal groups, there are many remote, outlying villages which  have no access to health services, health centres nor clinics.
Indonesian Department of Health reports show that in the central highlands, with a population of around 400,000, there is only one hospital, with 70 beds, and 15 health centres, with a doctor in the 13 subdistricts covering an area of 53,000 square kilometres.
The infant mortality rate in West Papua ranges between 70-200/1000.The maternal mortality is 4.5/1000 in rural districts, where the majority of the population live, compared with a rate of 1.3/1000 in other parts of Indonesia. Pneumonia accounts for 26 per cent of infant death, diarrhoea 19 per cent, and malaria 11 per cent.According  to  an  international Christian NGO, the major underlying cause is clearly malnutrition with over 20 per cent of the population in the central highlands experiencing some degree of malnutrition (before the drought). Less than half the children under five are judged to be well nourished. Low income levels make medical  financing very difficult; affordability and availability of medicines, even common antibiotics, is a problem. The supply of cheap, good