Eka Yudha Saputra, Jakarta – Deputy of Emergency Response at the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), Major General Lukmansyah, revealed that budget constraints have been a hindrance in regional disaster response.
Disaster management resources, including personnel, logistics aid, equipment, and budget, are highly important for local authorities to do their work, but not all regions are equipped with adequate funding for emergency response.
He asserted that the central government, through BNPB, will support local authorities through the allocation of ready-to-use funds so long as the regional government declares a state of emergency due to a disaster.
The officer also spoke of the challenge faced in the improvement of skilled human resources, both in capacity and capability. "Not all regions have trained human resources and adequate personnel capacity enhancement activities," Lukmansyah said at the National Coordination Meeting for Disaster Management 2025 in Sentul, on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, as quoted from his official statement.
Lukmansyah explained that the lack of adequate logistics and equipment affected evacuation and fulfilling the needs of displaced residents and victims of disasters. In response to the limited resources, he emphasized the need for synergy and collaboration of the pentahelix model, consisting of the government, experts or academics, business institutions, the community, and mass media.
"The pentahelix model can be involved from the early stages of emergency response," he said.
Director of Emergency Infrastructure Support at BNPB, Andria Yuferryzal, stated that after the rapid assessment results, the affected regional heads are recommended to involve the pentahelix elements in the initial coordination meeting.
"This is aimed to get priority guidance for emergency management by the regional heads and identify the required resources," Andria said.
Meanwhile, the Head of BNPB Operations Control Center, Bambang Surya Putra, believes that the resources held outside the government are significant, such as from non-governmental organizations and business institutions. Bambang hopes that various parties can synergize under one command activated by the regional government.
BNPB is not exempt from budget cuts ordered by President Prabowo Subianto. The BNPB budget allocation for this year is set at Rp956.67 billion after the budget is trimmed by Rp 470.9 billion.
– Ervana Trikarinaputri contributed to the writing of this article
Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1988404/budget-constraints-impede-regional-disaster-response-bnpb-say