Anti-AIDS drive must include religious leaders<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The anti-AIDS campaigns in predominantly-Moslem
\nIndonesia should involve religious leaders, a World Health
\nOrganization (WHO) official suggested.<\/p>\n
Dr. Michael H. Merson, director of WHO's Global Program on
\nAIDS, said here yesterday that the success of some countries in
\ntheir efforts to control the spread of the disease rested with
\nthe mobilization of all resources, including giving religious
\nleaders a role.<\/p>\n
Speaking to the press after talks with Coordinating Minister
\nfor People's Welfare Azwar Anas and Minister of Health Sujudi
\nhere, Merson said that although the AIDS epidemic in Indonesia is
\nstill at an early stage, the potential for explosion is enormous.<\/p>\n
He added that anti-AIDS campaigners could learn from
\nIndonesia's success in family planning, which also relied heavily
\non religious leaders to disseminate information at the local
\nlevel.<\/p>\n
"Indonesia has a small window of opportunity to fight AIDS
\nbefore the epidemic spreads further," Merson said. "We have to
\nuse that opportunity wisely."<\/p>\n
In an effort to wage a unified campaign against the spread of
\nthe deadly disease, President Soeharto last month set up an
\ninter-ministerial commission to coordinate the campaigns.<\/p>\n
Involving at least nine ministers, the commission will stress
\nprevention and the dissemination of information, particularly at
\nthe local level.<\/p>\n
In May the government announced 263 confirmed HIV cases among
\nIndonesia's 185 million people, but several ministers and health
\nofficials believe the figure could be 200 times higher.<\/p>\n
Earlier, officials had said the country probably already had
\nsome 20,000 HIV-positive victims at the end of last year, and
\npredicted that 500,000 people may be infected by 1995.<\/p>\n
Anticipating such an increase, the government said last year
\nit would step up testing for HIV, especially among people in
\nhigh-risk groups such as prostitutes and homosexuals.<\/p>\n
Merson, who is here to offer WHO technical assistance, pledged
\nthat his organization will rally donor countries and agencies to
\nprovide financial assistance for the anti-AIDS campaign.<\/p>\n
He said he had met with representatives from donor agencies
\nfrom Japan, the United States, the United Nations Development
\nProgram (UNDP), Germany and other members of the European
\nCommunity. All of them have agreed to extend the necessary help
\nto Indonesia, he said.<\/p>\n
"The key support, however, must come from your own
\ngovernment," said Merson, who was accompanied by WHO
\nRepresentative in Indonesia Robert Kim Farley.<\/p>\n
Over the past five years, WHO has injected some US$3 million
\ninto Indonesia's anti-AIDS campaign.<\/p>\n
As the world's fifth most populous country whose economy is
\ngrowing rapidly, Indonesia poses a special concern for the
\ninternational body, especially regarding its human resource
\ndevelopment plan.<\/p>\n
"This disease attacks young people who are at their most
\nproductive age," Merson said, adding that the economic cost of
\nthe disease in Thailand alone would reach US$11 billion by the
\nyear 2,000.<\/p>\n
Merson identified Thailand, India, Myanmar, Laos and China as
\ncountries beset by the rapid growth of their sex industries.<\/p>\n
"AIDS is basically a sexually transmitted disease... so the
\nperfect recipe for the campaigns against it to succeed is to
\nfight against high-risk sexual behavior through education," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Almost four million people are estimated to have AIDS
\nworldwide, compared to 2.5 million in July 1993, incorporating an
\neight-fold increase in Asia from some 30,000 to 250,000.<\/p>\n
The latest report by WHO's Global Program on the disease
\nestimated that by the end of the decade 10 million people in Asia
\nwill be infected by HIV, which leads to the incurable AIDS.<\/p>\n
The report also estimated that 16 million adults and one
\nmillion children have been infected by HIV to date. It also
\npredicted that by the end of the decade, the current global total
\nwill stand between 30 million and 40 million people. (swe)<\/p>",
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