Please note that this is an on-going project.
Project Description
Primary healthcare centres, known as PUSKESMAS, in Indonesia, are at the forefront of the current climate crisis. CORE-STEP is a collaborative project between Griffith University and Universitas Syiah Kuala in Banda Aceh, Indonesia that aims to strengthen the resilience of PUSKESMAS in response to impacts of climate change. CORE-STEP has brought together researchers, data specialists, healthcare professionals, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), government representatives, and community members to address this challenge, focusing on three coastal pilot locations: Ambon, Banda Aceh, and Mataram.
Since the project launched in July 2023 it has achieved several milestones. These include: knowledge sharing sessions; study visits to Indonesia and Australia; and the development of a climate service dashboard.
The purpose of the CORE-STEP Dashboard is to provide PUSKESMAS and other users with data that is presented in a simple visual format that can support decision-making by assisting to identify opportunities and prioritise adaptation efforts at the village, district, and city levels. It achieves this with the integration of historical disaster data, along with data on weather patterns and health trends to present several tools for climate risk analysis that are localised to the village level at each of the pilot locations. The CORE-STEP Dashboard can be viewed here: https://www.core-step.info/. It was developed using both quantitative and qualitative data. First, relevant datasets on climate, disasters, and health trends were mapped and collated to analyse the various climate risks in each city. Second, three focus group discussions, and a community survey with 959 respondents were conducted to explore the perceived climate-health risks, their impacts on the communities, and the potential strategies to mitigate these threats.
In addition to the CORE-STEP Dashboard, the project has produced a policy brief of key findings, with more publications planned.
Project Personnel and Beneficiaries
CORE-STEP involves the local community, health workers, academics, national and local governments, and university students in Indonesia and Australia.
Intended users of the CORE-STEP Dashboard include local government departments or institutions, philanthropic community organisations, businesses, academics, and the general public. It has been designed to be user-friendly and easily navigable, helping users to identify trends, patterns, and challenges as information for decision-making.
Outcomes to Date
As part of the CORE-STEP study visit to Australia in February 2024, representatives from Banda Aceh, Ambon, and Mataram engaged in in-depth discussions about the challenges their local health services faced. Each city shared its strengths, weaknesses, adaptive strategies, management techniques, and use of technology to learn from peers and experts about solutions. Additionally, CORE-STEP launched a climate-disaster-health data dashboard to help healthcare systems tackle climate-related health challenges and promote inclusive care. In August 2024, the initiative published a policy brief on Advancing Innovative Knowledge-based Solutions for Inclusive and Climate-Ready Healthcare Systems. The project engages marginalised and vulnerable communities – people living with disabilities and women as part of the decision-making process to develop climate-health adaptation measures. Additionally, the project produced two master’s dissertations to research the perspectives of community health volu
Project Significance
As a women-led initiative, CORE-STEP incorporates researchers across career trajectories and engages diverse stakeholders from academic institutions, governmental bodies, health organisations and community sectors. This comprehensive approach strengthens SDGs 5 and 17 through exemplary leadership and cross-sectoral collaboration.
The development of the CORE-STEP Dashboard reflects extensive stakeholder consultation, incorporating perspectives from local governance authorities and community organisations representing women, people with disabilities and youth demographics. These stakeholders provide critical insights into localised governance structures and community-specific challenges during climate events. Through inclusive methodologies, CORE-STEP systematically incorporates diverse climate impact experiences, advancing SDG 10 through equitable representation.
However, the success of CORE-STEP is underpinned by the strategic partnership between Griffith University and Universitas Syiah Kuala, formalised through a memorandum of understanding (MoU). This collaboration has catalised additional partnerships whilst reinforcing existing institutional relationships.
Fundamentally, CORE-STEP’s primary objective of enhancing primary health care centres’ (PUSKESMAS) resilience in response to climate change impacts demonstrates substantial advancement of SDG13 through evidence-based interventions, technology innovation and partnerships.