UM donation for medical library Indonesian hospital

Through a donation of the Faculty of Health Sciences a start can be made to restore the medical library in the Indonesian Banda Aceh. In December 2004 the largest part of the library of the Syiah Kuala University & Zainul Abidin Academic Hospital was wiped away by the Tsunami. Forty books on two small shelves made up the complete medical reference works that were available to the Indonesian doctors.

The Indonesian hospital lost a great deal through the tidal wave. The medical books are only a minor part of their total loss. Doctors, nursing staff, entire sections of accompanying buildings and a hospital located by the sea, were taken away by the ravaging force of the Tsunami. Just like everybody else in Banda Aceh, the hospital is trying to get back on its feet and restore the damage.

In February, 2006, Doctor Agus Yayasan showed Ria Westenberg of the Faculty of Health Sciences, around the sections of the hospital that were not destroyed by the Tsunami. He entered the library. It was a small room with only a table and a few chairs. In a cabinet stood about forty books. This is the complete collection of books of the hospital.

Lack of a good library is disastrous. Apart from the fact that doctors need good reference material, the doctors in training also need specialist literature at hand to enhance their skills. For this reason many of them will eventually leave for different hospitals to pursue their medical training. As a consequence there will be insufficient doctors and surgeons in this region to provide the medical care that the population desperately needs.

The visit to hospital in Banda Aceh made a deep impression on Westenberg. After her return to the Netherlands she went to great lengths to find a way in which to contribute to the redevelopment of the hospital. The Faculty of Health Sciences recognizes the importance of good healthcare and the knowledge to sustain it and has donated a sizeable amount of funding. With this donation a start can be made to restore the hospital’s library. With the expansion of the library the level of knowledge and education in Banda Aceh will be heightened.

Source: University of Maastricht, Faculty of Health Sciences, 12 June 2006