The Coordinating Minister for Political , Legal and Security of Indonesia Luhut Pandjaitan said Indonesia has spent 385 billion Rupiah (nearly 3 million USD) to tackle forest fires and haze pollution.

The Indonesian government also planned to allocate an additional 700 billion Rupiah (approximately 5.18 million USD) to cope with the problem that has heavily damaged the economy and human health.

In a field trip to areas affected by the disaster with Minister of Health Nila Moeloek, Indonesian President Joko Widodo urged the Ministry for Political , Legal and Security to coordinate with the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management to quickly tackle forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

Haze in Indonesia

According to the latest data, Ogan Komering Illir (OKI) district in South Sumatra has suffered the most severe damage.

In order to reduce the effect of haze pollution, the Indonesian government transported a vast amount of health aid tools such as masks, oxygen supply devices, antibiotics and other medicines to health centres and hospitals to distribute to local residents.

Health Minister Nila Moeloek asked local medical staff to keep close watch of community health in the face of a strong increase of patients of respiratory diseases in the provinces of Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra and West, South and Central Kalimantan.

In addition, the minister also called on the community, especially pregnant women, children and the elderly living in areas affected by haze and smoke, to limit their time spent outside and to use masks whenever they leave the house.

With the support of governmental agencies, the disaster aid fund and equipment sent by the international community, Indonesia is hopeful the forest fires and haze pollution will soon be under control.

(Source: VNA)