Indonesia Deploys 160 Reserve Health Workers to Flores After Quake

Labuan Bajo — Indonesia’s Health Ministry has deployed a second batch of 160 reserve health workers to earthquake-affected areas of Flores in East Nusa Tenggara, with the mission prioritising psychosocial and mental-health support alongside medical services, according to the ministry and local media reports.

The Health Ministry said the 160 Tenaga Cadangan Kesehatan (reserve health workers) in Batch 2 were flown from Terminal 2 of Soekarno–Hatta International Airport on Monday, 7 September 2026, to support communities hit by the Flores earthquake. They are being assigned to four regencies on Flores island: Ngada, Manggarai, West Manggarai and East Manggarai.

Sumarjaya, acting head of the ministry’s Health Crisis Centre, said the second deployment has a different emphasis from the initial mission, focusing more on psychosocial services and mental-health care for residents coping with trauma. According to his statement, the teams will provide education and communication on post-disaster health, and offer psychosocial assistance especially for children and other vulnerable groups.

Services in health facilities

The reserve workers are assigned to support services at community health centres and field hospitals in the affected areas. The ministry and several reports state that two inflatable field hospitals have been set up in Ruteng and Ngada to provide safe surgical and emergency care following the quake, with the reserve teams reinforcing those facilities.

Authorities have previously deployed specialist medical teams, including surgeons and anaesthetists, to staff the field hospitals and strengthen local health facilities after the earthquake. The most recent 160-person contingent is intended to complement those earlier deployments by expanding psychosocial outreach while continuing routine medical care at health centres and the two field hospitals.

In addition to trauma counselling and mental-health support, the teams are tasked with post-operative patient care and broader community health services. The ministry said the reserve workers will also conduct health surveillance to detect potential infectious diseases and help prevent outbreaks in crowded shelters and affected communities.

Deployment period and emergency status

The Health Ministry stated that the mission follows World Health Organization standards, with each batch of reserve health workers scheduled to serve for about 14 days before personnel rotation. The deployment is aligned with the provincial government’s emergency-response period, which was set until Saturday, 12 September 2026, with the possibility of extension depending on conditions in the field.

Earlier, the ministry and national media reported that an initial group of roughly 200 reserve health workers was sent to Nusa Tenggara Timur soon after the magnitude 7.7 quake to support acute medical response and operations in hospitals and health centres. The second batch to Flores marks a shift towards longer-term recovery, as authorities combine clinical care, mental-health support and disease monitoring while communities continue to rebuild.

Focus on psychosocial recovery

Ministry statements and coverage by several Indonesian outlets describe the second deployment as a humanitarian mission aimed at accelerating psychosocial recovery for earthquake survivors on Flores. The reserve workers include professionals trained in handling post-disaster trauma and stress, and they are expected to work closely with local health staff and humanitarian organisations to reach affected residents in health facilities and temporary shelters.

By strengthening mental-health services and maintaining medical and surveillance capacity in Ngada, Manggarai, West Manggarai and East Manggarai, officials say the programme is designed to reduce the risk of long-term psychological harm and secondary health crises following the Flores earthquake.

Sources

• Kementerian Kesehatan RI – "Kemenkes Kirim 160 Nakes Batch 2 ke NTT, Perkuat Pemulihan Psikososial Korban Gempa"
• RRI.co.id – "Kemenkes Kirim 160 Tenaga Cadangan Kesehatan Tahap Dua ke Wilayah NTT"
• Okezone Women – "Pulihkan Kesehatan Mental Korban Gempa NTT, Kemenkes Kirim Tim"
• Headline.co.id – "Kemenkes Tingkatkan Dukungan Psikososial Pascagempa NTT dengan 160 TCK"
• Metro TV News – "Kemenkes Minta Relawan Gempa NTT Utamakan Keselamatan Diri"
• IDN Times – "Perjuangan Nakes Tembus Jalur Ekstrem Menjangkau Pelosok Ende"
• Astakom.com