The Climate and Health (CH 3.4) Research Team of the Partnership for Australia-Indonesia Research (PAIR) Sulawesi a collaborative effort between Universitas Hasanuddin, Institut Teknologi Bandung, and the University of Melbourne held a two-day Focus Group Discussion (FGD) at the Best Western Plus Coco Palu Hotel in Palu City, Central Sulawesi Province. Sessions 1 and 2 took place on Thursday, 4 December 2025, while Session 3 followed on Friday, 5 December 2025, with each session running for approximately three hours. The venue was chosen for its accessibility, comfort, and adequate facilities to support productive group discussions.
The PAIR Sulawesi programme is led by the Australia-Indonesia Centre (AIC) with direct support from the Ministry of Education, Higher Education, Science, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia (Kemdiktisaintek RI) alongside the Australian Government. Funding is provided jointly by the Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) of the Australian Government.
The CH 3.4 PAIR Sulawesi research team is carrying out a study entitled: “Climate-related Health Outcomes and Healthcare Access in Southeast and Central Sulawesi Provinces: Enabling Climate Resilient Policies and Governance.”
The topic was chosen in response to the growing number of Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever (DHF) and diarrhoea cases, alongside persistent challenges in healthcare access across Central Sulawesi. The study sets out to examine how climate change affects public health and healthcare access in both Central and Southeast Sulawesi, with particular attention to climate-sensitive diseases such as DHF and diarrhoea. The FGD represented a critical phase of this research, centred on understanding these climate-health dynamics in Central Sulawesi and generating evidence to inform adaptive, climate-resilient health policies and governance frameworks.
The FGD was carried out by the CH 3.4 PAIR Sulawesi Research Team. The team members present in Palu were Prof. Rini Rachmawaty, S.Kep., Ns., MN., Ph.D as Partner Investigator; Rati Mardatillah, S.Kep., Ns as Research Assistant; Dr. Irsanty Collein, M.Kep., Ns., Sp.Kep.MB as Local Research Assistant; and Alfi Irtiyah Andini, S.Kep., Ns as Research Administrator. Together, they were responsible for planning, facilitating the discussions, documenting proceedings, and managing data collection throughout the event.
The study employs a mixed-methods design. The FGD served as the primary vehicle for qualitative data collection, drawing out the perspectives, experiences, and assessments of key stakeholders on how climate change is affecting community health particularly through the rising incidence of DHF and diarrhoea and what this means for healthcare access and readiness. Quantitative data were also collected at the close of each session using instruments prepared by the research team.
Each day began with an opening session in which the PAIR Sulawesi CH 3.4 Team presented the research background and explained the objectives and format of the discussion. Participants then completed informed consent forms and publication agreements before the structured discussions got underway. The discussions were organised by stakeholder group policymakers, healthcare providers, and community leaders with the goal of gathering their views, frontline experiences, and strategic recommendations to support climate-adaptive health policy development. In addition to the qualitative exchanges, each session concluded with a round of quantitative data collection to strengthen the overall research findings.
Session 1 ran from 08:30 to 12:00 WITA on Thursday, 4 December 2025, and brought together nine participants from the policymaker group. The activity involved 13, participants Among them were the Head of the Palu City Health Office (dr. Rochmat Jasin Moenawar) accompanied by four staff members, the Secretary of Bappeda Palu City (Moh. Fahri, S.E., M.Si), the Secretary of BPBD (Mohamad Issa Sunusi, S.T), and two staff members from the BMKG Central Sulawesi Province office. The session covered 22 questions and focused on leadership and governance, disaster preparedness and risk management, financing and resource allocation, integrated risk monitoring and early warning systems, climate-informed health programmes, environmental determinant management, and policy barriers affecting vulnerable populations including issues of gender equality, disability, and social inclusion (GEDSI).
Session 2 took place that same afternoon, from 13:00 to 16:00 WITA, and involved twelve participants drawn from the healthcare provider community. The activity involved 16 participants, These included the Head of Medical Support Services at RSUD Madani Palu City (Atmudin Mustapa, S.K.M., M.M), one training and education staff member from RSUD Undata Central Sulawesi Province, the Head of Sangurara Community Health Centre (Suardi, S.Kep., Ns) with two staff members, the Head of Talise Community Health Centre (Rahmat Massi, SKM., MAP) with three staff members, and three staff members from Mabelopura Community Health Centre. Guided by 23 questions, the discussion explored health workforce capacity, service quality and accessibility, case surveillance and reporting systems, health logistics and technology, and facility preparedness for patient surges during extreme weather events. The questions were designed to draw out practical, ground-level experiences of managing DHF and diarrhoea under climate pressures covering field-level challenges, referral pathways, the use of climate data in decision-making, and what policy and service-system strengthening would look like in practice.
Session 3 was held on Friday, 5 December 2025, from 08:30 to 12:00 WITA, and gathered nine participants from the community leader and civil society group. The activity involved 13 participants, Present were Camat Tatanga (Moh. Yusuf, S.Sos), a staff representative from Kecamatan Mantikulore, Camat Palu Selatan (Goenawan, S.STP), Lurah Donggala Kodi (Idris S.H., M.H), Lurah Boyaoge (Idrus Mansur S.E), Lurah Talise (Mohammad Iqbal, S.H., M.H), the Head of the Government Affairs Section of Kelurahan Tatura Utara (Wahyu Novi Hidayat, S.Sos), the Secretary of Kelurahan Tatura Selatan (Ninik Arbidani, S.Kom), and Lurah Tondo (Mursidin Siraj, S.Sos., M.Si). The session’s 16 questions explored community health conditions, the vulnerability of specific groups, community capacity and resilience, public access to health services and information, and the role communities play in prevention, response, and advocacy around climate-related health policy. The conversation zeroed in on firsthand experiences with DHF and diarrhoea at the neighbourhood level, local prevention practices, gotong royong (mutual aid) mechanisms, community-based early warning systems, and how communication and coordination with government agencies and health facilities actually work on the ground.
All three FGD sessions followed a consistent structure: a brief introduction, core discussions guided by the question protocol, and a closing round of quantitative instrument completion to reinforce the qualitative findings.
The entire series of activities proceeded smoothly and in an orderly fashion, with strong, active participation from attendees across all sessions. The cross-sectoral involvement is expected to yield a well-rounded picture of how climate factors, environmental conditions, healthcare capacity, and regional policy intersect. The findings from these discussions will serve as a foundation for developing evidence-based policy recommendations and for strengthening a health system that is more responsive and sustainable in the face of climate change across Central Sulawesi.
This activity contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 1 (No Poverty) by addressing the disproportionate health burden on vulnerable and low-income communities; SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being) by generating evidence to strengthen climate-resilient health systems and reduce the incidence of climate-sensitive diseases such as DHF and diarrhoea; SDG 15 (Life on Land) by examining how environmental and ecological changes drive shifting disease patterns in terrestrial communities; and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) through the Australia-Indonesia multi-institutional research partnership between Universitas Hasanuddin, Institut Teknologi Bandung, and the University of Melbourne, jointly funded by LPDP and DFAT.
