A psychosocial needs assessment of communities in 14 conflict-affected districts in Aceh

Abstract

Between December 2005 and November 2006, a team of researchers from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Department of Social Medicine from Harvard Medical School, carried out a Psychosocial Needs Assessment (PNA) in high conflict sub-districts across Aceh, in two phases. Phase 2, or Psychosocial Needs Assessment 2 (PNA2) conducted research in 75 high conflict villages in 11 districts throughout Aceh. The PNA2 report is an extension of the research for Psychosocial Needs Assessment 1 (PNA1), which was conducted in high conflict sub districts in Aceh Utara, Bireuen and Pidie, Aceh in February 2006. Research for this second study was conducted in 10 districts in July 2006 with funding from the World Bank, Decentralization Support Facility (DSF), IOM, and the Harvard Medical School, and in Aceh Besar district in November 2006, funded by IOM and the Harvard Medical School. The primary focus of this report is to provide findings from the PNA2 data and to compare these data with data previously analysed and published in the first Psychosocial Needs Assessment (PNA1) report.(1) Research for PNA1 was funded by the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, IOM and Harvard Medical School. The basic goal of the overall project was to evaluate the psychosocial and mental health needs in communities which have been deeply affected by the years of conflict between armed forces of the Republic of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), given the cessation of violence after the signing of the August 2005 Memorandum of Understanding. This report focuses on past traumatic experiences and current psychosocial and mental health needs in high conflict areas throughout Aceh. Although the peace agreement ended almost three decades of violence most of the traumatic experiences reported date from the early 1990's until August 2005. The report deliberately refrains from identifying groups or individuals instrumental in the violence visited upon these communities.