INDONESIA: Elderly Among Most Vulnerable Earthquake Survivors

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia (People's Daily - Xinhua), June 28, 2006: Women and children and the elderly were among the vulnerable groups who remained at risk from disease outbreaks, particularly where the health services were destroyed, says Vijay Nath Kyaw Win, the World Health Organization's Focal Person for Emergency Humanitarian Action in Indonesia. More survivors of last month's quake in Indonesia's Yogyakarta province have been infected with a variety of diseases, including respiratory problems, skin infections, diarrhea, and mental stress, a WHO official said here on Wednesday. Win said that acute respiratory infections have tripled this week as 7,000 people sought treatment at local health services. Nearly 6,000 people were killed in the May 27 quake in Yogyakarta province, which also left over 150,000 suffering serious spinal and head injuries, broken bones, deep cuts and mental stress and some 1.5 million homeless. Copyright by People's Daily. All rights reserved