U.N. urges aid for quake-ridden Indonesia

JAKARTA, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- The United Nations' health agency says Indonesia needs financial help to recover from two earthquakes and prepare for future disasters.

The U.N. World Health Organization said in a release Friday that urgent aid was needed in Indonesia in the wake of the September quakes that struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra, killing more than 1,100 people and destroying or damaging more than 360 health facilities.

"It is really sad to see that health centers and hospitals collapse in times of natural disasters, a time when they are most needed to provide services to people who are injured and people that have suffered," U.N. WHO Director General Margaret Chan said.

Efforts to rebuild health facilities in Indonesia received funding this week from the U.N. Central Emergency Response Fund, but Chan called for the international community to offer additional assistance to build robust facilities in case of future disasters.

"I would like to again appeal to partners, governments that this kind of investment in health facilities will pay good dividends on your investment," Chan said. "The people will thank you for what you have done to protect their health."