Wamena, Jubi – A prolonged drought that has affected Kuyawage District in Lanny Jaya Regency, Papua Highlands Province, since June 2026 is continuing, leaving residents facing a growing food shortage after crops failed across the region.
Nuwinus Gwijangge, an internally displaced resident originally from Nduga Regency
who has been living in Kuyawage since 2018, said the drought had devastated local farmland, resulting in widespread crop failure and worsening food insecurity.
He said the food shortage was affecting not only internally displaced people from Nduga but also local communities in Kuyawage.
According to Gwijangge, displaced residents from Nduga are hoping their home regency administration will provide emergency food assistance during the prolonged dry season.
“The Nduga Regency Government has never paid attention to us. In fact, we feel ashamed because it is the Lanny Jaya Regency Government—not our own—that has consistently helped us, in addition to our own efforts to survive in displacement,” Gwijangge told Jubi by phone on Thursday (6 August 2026).
He also called on the Papua Highlands Provincial Government to distribute food aid to affected communities in Kuyawage.
“Since the drought began, local residents from Lanny Jaya have received attention and food assistance from their regional government. But we, the displaced people from Nduga, feel as though we have no government at all,” he said.
Gwijangge said that since he and other residents from Nduga were displaced to Lanny Jaya in 2018, they had received no assistance from the Nduga Regency Government despite repeatedly requesting support.
“We have now endured more than a month of drought in Kuyawage. Our crops have withered and failed, making it increasingly difficult to meet our daily needs. Our livelihoods are under threat,” he said.
When the drought first affected parts of Kuyawage in June 2026, displaced residents
informed Daniel Lokbere, head of the Nduga Regency Agriculture and Food Security
Agency, about the urgent need for food assistance.
At the time, the agency was preparing to distribute rice to displaced Nduga residents
in Wamena, Jayawijaya Regency. Displaced residents in Kuyawage requested that their share of the rice assistance also be delivered to them, but they said they received no response from the agency.
They are now again appealing to both the Nduga Regency Government and the Papua Highlands Provincial Government to provide emergency food supplies.
Gwijangge said the drought first affected Bonbon, Yugume, and surrounding areas in
June before spreading across the whole of Kuyawage. He added that similar drought
conditions occur twice each year.
“If the regency and provincial governments fail to respond, this situation will threaten people’s lives,” he said.
Administratively, Kuyawage is divided between Lanny Jaya Regency, Nduga Regency, and Puncak Regency in Central Papua Province. (*)
Indonesia's security forces have launched a joint operation to pursue the group of West Papua National Liberation Army fighters who killed five road construction workers in Papua's Highland province on Sunday.
It comes amid reports of an escalating conflict between pro-independence Papuan fighters and Indonesian forces, causing mass displacement of village communities in the region..
The West Papua National Liberation Army has claimed responsibility for killing the Indonesian workers, alleging they were undercover intelligence agents.
"I think its putting a solution further out of reach," said Dr Cammi Webb-Gannon, the coordinator of the West Papua Project at the University of Wollongong.
"The more the violence escalates, the further West Papuans are from achieving peace and justice in their land."
Jayapura, Jubi – Indonesia’s Deputy Home Affairs Minister, Ribka Haluk, says the suspected food poisoning incident involving children and adults who consumed meals under the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program in Depapre District, Jayapura Regency, should serve as a catalyst for a comprehensive review of how the program is implemented.
Haluk said a nationwide evaluation was needed to ensure food safety standards are applied consistently across all Nutrition Fulfilment Service Units (SPPGs).
She said the review should extend beyond the incident in Jayapura and be used to strengthen the implementation of the MBG program across Indonesia while ensuring food safety remains a priority.
“This incident should serve as a lesson for all of us. The evaluation should not stop at one location but become an opportunity to strengthen oversight, improve the capacity of SPPG operators, and ensure food safety standards are implemented consistently throughout Indonesia,” Haluk said during a working visit to Jayapura Regency on Thursday (6 August 2026).
Haluk accompanied National Nutrition Agency (BGN) Deputy Head Major General Trenggono to Jayapura Regency to ensure patients affected by the suspected food poisoning received prompt and comprehensive medical care.
The delegation also inspected the operation of the MBG program at the Depapre Nutrition Fulfilment Service Unit (SPPG), reviewing each stage of the food preparation process, including the handling of raw ingredients, meal preparation,
storage and distribution.
The inspection identified several areas requiring improvement, including sanitation at dishwashing facilities, food temperature control, raw ingredient storage, hygiene of eating utensils, storage of cooked meals and food distribution procedures.
“This inspection is not about determining who is at fault. It is about ensuring every stage of the Free Nutritious Meals program complies with food safety standards. Every finding will contribute to a comprehensive evaluation so that incidents like this do not happen again,” she said.
She stressed that all SPPGs must strictly comply with standard operating procedures (SOPs) to protect the health and safety of program beneficiaries.
“Our inspection found several aspects that require improvement, including sanitation,
food temperature control, storage of raw ingredients, storage of cooked meals and
distribution procedures. These issues must be addressed immediately because they
directly affect the health and safety of beneficiaries,” she said.
Haluk also revealed that the Ministry of Home Affairs is preparing a new governance framework for implementing the MBG program in Indonesia’s underdeveloped, frontier and outermost (3T) regions, with a particular focus on Papua.
The framework is expected to strengthen the role of local governments, increase community participation, improve oversight mechanisms and adapt program implementation to the geographic and social conditions of each region.
As a follow-up, the ministry and the National Nutrition Agency will conduct a comprehensive review of food safety, sanitation, distribution systems and compliance with standard operating procedures at SPPGs nationwide.
The government will also strengthen coordination with the Ministry of Health, regional administrations, and the Indonesian military and police to develop a more adaptive and sustainable model for delivering the MBG program in 3T regions. (*)
Jayapura – The size of the indigenous population in the land of Papua is steadily declining. There are many reasons for this drop in the population. Aside from the marginalisation of indigenous communities, another factor is the high mortality rate resulting from climate and environmental changes caused by land clearing by companies.
Farid Gaban, one of the authors of the book "ResetIndonesia", noted that the decline in the indigenous Papuan population stands in stark contrast to the region's immense natural wealth. Current data indicates they make up no more than 38 percent of the population.
"The latest figures confirm this. It clearly demonstrates the marginalisation of the Papuan people. I believe it is caused by poverty, because Papua is one of the poorest regions, and its people are highly vulnerable to environmental changes. When forests are cleared, they are increasingly displaced, and their food sources vanish. The opening of economic projects in Papua inevitably lead to the arrival of people from outside Papua, Javanese people. One of the triggers is the creation of new administrative regions. In recent years, the central government has increased the number of provinces in Papua, splitting the region into smaller units, from three provinces to six", Gaban said.
Gaban noted that the indigenous Papuan population has now become a minority.
"From official government data, the number of indigenous Papuans in Papua is now at most 38 percent of the population. Meaning, the decline has been quite significant year-on-year. Meaning, that they are actually already in the position of a minority, because actually they are outnumbered by migrants", said Gaban.
The senior journalist known for his high-quality writing in Tempo Magazine, said that marginalisation or sidelining of Papuans is largely driven by poverty.
"This marginalisation is felt by Papuans. They are highly vulnerable to environmental changes. As forests continue to be cleared, they are further displaced, their food sources disappear. Economic development in Papua creates opportunities for people from outside Papua to come in. One of the triggers is the creation of new administrative regions. The central government has increased the number of provinces to six", he said.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Penduduk Papua Kian Menurun, Penyebab Menurut Farid Gaban".]
Source: https://suarapapua.com/2026/08/05/penduduk-papua-kian-menurun-penyebab-menurut-farid-gaban/
