BBC News, 22 December 2010
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Indonesia's Aceh province has made a "remarkable" recovery after the devastating 2004 tsunami but many serious challenges remain.
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| Aceh lags behind the rest of Indonesia in terms of health, poverty and development, says the UNDP |
A UN Development Programme report said rebuilding had been impressive in Aceh.
But it added that more needed to be done to lessen the impact of natural disasters and to reduce poverty.
In December 2004, a quake off the coast of Aceh triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean, which killed a quarter of a million people in 13 countries.
Aceh sits on the volatile "ring of fire", a belt of tectonic activity that triggers earthquakes and volcanoes.
'Remarkable progress'
The UNDP report, which was requested by the Aceh administration, said the region's recovery was "beyond anything imaginable six years ago".
"The people of Aceh have achieved remarkable progress in the physical rebuilding of their communities, yet similar advances in key human development indicators remain elusive," the report said.
In terms of poverty, life expectancy and other quality of life measurements, Aceh lags behind the rest of Indonesia.
"Long years of military and political struggle, coupled with changing economic conditions and continuing natural disasters, have left Aceh today as one of the poorest provinces in Indonesia," the report said.
A year after the tsunami, Aceh's separatists signed a peace deal with Jakarta and now dominate local government. The report said Aceh had made "impressive gains in participation in the political arena".
However, it found that women were "still largely under-represented in decision-making at the community level" and that domestic violence was a "major concern".
This first Aceh Human Development Report is based on data from 2008, the latest year for which figures are available.
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