MUHAMMADIYAH.OR.ID, YOGYAKARTA – The Council for Public Health (MPKU) of Muhammadiyah Central Board has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening national health services, particularly in responding to ongoing natural disasters in Sumatra.
MPKU continues to work in close synergy with other Muhammadiyah institutions, especially the Muhammadiyah Disaster Management Center (MDMC), through One Muhammadiyah, One Response (OMOR) framework, which ensures unified command and coordination during emergencies.
“When disaster occur, we consistently apply One Muhammadiyah, One Response, with MDMC serving as the leading institution,” said MPKU Chairperson dr. Ekorini Listiowati on Thursday (22/01)
Under OMOR, she explained, coordination of services and mapping medical resource needs are the first priorities for MPKU and Muhammadiyah-’Aisyiyah Hospitals (RSMA). Given the unpredictable nature of disasters, MPKU must remain ready to rapidly deploy professional medical teams to affected areas.
“A complete team usually consists of at least two doctors, three nurses, midwives, and pharmacists, essentially functioning as an emergency clinic,” she said.
MPKU has also urged RSMA facilities to carefully manage staffing availability so that hospital services continue to operate effectively while teams are deployed to disaster zones.
Beyond personnel, logistics such as medical equipment and pharmaceuticals remain a key concern in disaster settings. To strengthen OMOR moving forward, dr. Ekorini emphasized the need for disaster preparedness training for RSMA medical staff, noting that disaster contexts often present unique and unfamiliar health cases.
To that end, MPKU plans to collaborate with MDMC on structured disaster-response training programs. She expressed hope that these initiatives will further drive cross-council collaboration within Muhammadiyah, strengthening emergency response, rehabilitation, and reconstruction efforts in future disasters. (Fiya)
Translator: Bintang Adrian
