Robert Isidorus, Jayapura – Sixty-one people have reportedly died in the past three months in the Samenage district of Yahukimo, Papua, due to the lack of health-care facilities.

Father John Jonga, winner of the Yap Thiam Hien Award 2009 on human rights, said that the long distance to health-care facilities made it difficult for local residents to receive help when they become ill.

"Residents' [lives] could not be saved because the access to a health-care facility is far. Although [we] have a small community health-care facility unit, there aren't any medical officers available. This has made it difficult for the residents to get medical help," John said on Wednesday.

John said that he reported this situation to Jayapura bishop Leo Laba Ladjar and Yahukimo district head Ones Pahabol.

He said that the people who died of illnesses came from nine kampungs in the area, namely Pona, Haleroma, Ison, Muke, Hugi Lokon, Astapo, Notnare, Hirin and Samenage.

John said that the government should pay attention to these cases and put some priorities to provide health-care facilities.

John regularly made visits to the areas from January to March and received the reports from local residents. "Last week, I sent two text messages to the district head about this problem, but the district head didn't reply," he said.

Based on information from the field, district head Ones never visited the kampungs during his 10 years in office. It has also been reported that during the past two years, the kampung chiefs were also rarely in attendance of their areas.

The local chapter of the nation's human rights agency in the West Papuan province said last week that as many as 95 people have died of hunger in Tambrauw district from November to March this year, with hundreds more still at risk.

Frits Bernard Kamuki Ramandey, the acting secretary of the Papua branch of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), said that it was inconceivable that the authorities would have allowed people to starve to death.

"Obviously the local authorities have let the situation get out of control," he said. "How can so many people be suffering from this? This is no natural disaster."

Gabriel, the Tambrauw district chief, acknowledged that there was a malnutrition problem in the area but refuted Komnas HAM's figure, saying that only 15 people had died during that period. He said he ordered medical teams to visit and was preparing to evacuate residents to areas where they would have better access to medical care and food.