Provincial and Situation Analysis on Women and Children in Aceh 
Six years on from the tsunami, UNICEF commissioned Nossal Institute to undertake a provincial and district Situation Analysis on Women and Children in Aceh, Indonesia. The scope of the analysis encompassed UNICEF’s four primary sectors, namely: Education; Health including Nutrition; Child Protection; and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). The analysis focussed on the capacity of social services, duty bearers and rights holders and on the legal framework itself, for improving the situation of mothers and children across the province.
Three sites were selected for in-depth investigation and consultation: Aceh Besar, Aceh Jaya and Aceh Timur. Two overarching issues from the analysis:
1. The equity gap for rural populations: At December 2010, indicators demonstrated that children from rural areas were distinctly disadvantaged in terms of access to quality health care and education. For reasons of equity and peace, the social indicators for rural areas called for targeted programs to redress the pervasive disadvantage.
2. Integrated nature of child development: The determinants of child survival and development are inter-connected in nature, and a child’s growth and potential is established long before their birth through the health and status of their mother. Health, education, child protection and water and sanitation are mutually reinforcing, and cannot be improved in isolation (i.e. by independent sectoral interventions).
Key Nossal Institute Staff: Mia Urbano, Asnawi Abdullah, Judith Ascroft, Kris Hort, Alison Morgan, Natalie Stephens
Photo source with permission: Mia Urbano