Nearly 97% of Indonesians live in disaster-prone areas, where floods, droughts and climate-sensitive diseases increasingly threaten essential health services. In 2024 alone, 142 healthcare facilities were damaged by climate-related disasters, mainly floods, flash floods and landslides. Several facilities were forced to stop operations entirely, relocate services or deploy health workers to emergency response sites exactly when communities needed care most.
Many facilities still lack systematic ways to assess and strengthen their preparedness. Current weaknesses include limited workforce capacity for managing climate risks, water and sanitation systems that are easily disrupted, energy systems without reliable backup, and infrastructure not designed to withstand climate hazards.
The World Health Organization (WHO), working with the Ministry of Health and partners, developed the Climate-Resilient and Environmentally Sustainable Health Care Facilities assessment tools. These were adapted from WHO's global framework and integrated into the SIKELIM platform, a digital system that maps disaster-affected facilities in real time. The tools help facilities assess vulnerabilities across systems including workforce capacity, water and sanitation WASH and waste, energy, infrastructure and technology.
SIKELIM dashboard provides a real-time map and analytics of healthcare facilities affected by disasters, supporting monitoring and decision-making for climate-resilient health services in Indonesia. Credit: Ministry of Health, Indonesia
A pilot assessment in 15 hospitals and primary healthcare centres (Puskesmas) across Jakarta, Semarang and Bantul revealed that resilience levels vary significantly by region. Facilities in Semarang showed greater preparedness, while those in Jakarta and Bantul proved more vulnerable to flooding. In Jakarta, flood risk affects about 50% of health workers and one-third of water and sanitation systems.
"Climate change is felt most acutely by vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly, pregnant women, and persons with disabilities, both in terms of health impacts and access to healthcare services. This makes it essential for the health sector to adapt, collaborate and strengthen the resilience of health systems," said Professor Dr Dante Herbuwono, Vice Minister of Health, during the launch of the assessment guidelines in September 2025.
For Indonesia, climate-ready healthcare facilities mean services can continue during emergencies, protecting vulnerable populations when they need care most. The framework guides hospitals and Puskesmas to identify specific vulnerabilities and implement targeted interventions. Regular reassessments every one to three years are recommended.
Adaptation action by Hospital Panembahan Senopati, Yogyakarta: medical refrigerators and freezers elevated on blocks to protect essential medicines and vaccines from damage during flooding. Credit: PIAREA
With WHO’s support, the Ministry of Health plans to expand the baseline Climate-Resilient and Environmentally Sustainable Health Care Facilities assessment to more provinces, strengthen assessor capacity and improve the SIKELIM platform for routine monitoring. The assessment will be designed to ensure proportional representation of health facilities across Indonesia’s western, central and eastern regions. These efforts align with the National Action Plan on Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation for Health 2025–2030 and the National Adaptation Plan on Climate Change 2026-2030, supporting Indonesia's commitments under the COP26 Health Programme, the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement.
Written by Itsnaeni Abbas, National Consultant for Environmental Health, WHO Indonesia