HIV\/AIDS an imminent threat to the economy<\/p>\n
Wahyoe Boediwardhana
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nDenpasar, Bali<\/p>\n
With over 80 percent of the 130,000 people with HIV\/AIDS in
\nIndonesia in their productive years, between 20 years and 49
\nyears of age, the epidemic may badly hurt the country's economy,
\nan influential businessman says.<\/p>\n
\"With the large and increasing number of people living with
\nHIV\/AIDS, it will adversely influence our businesses, communities
\nand nation,\" the chairman of the National Business Alliance on
\nHIV\/AIDS (NBA) Hadi S. Topobroto said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Asia Pacific HIV\/AIDS
\nPrivate Sector Mobilization Workshop in Legian, Kuta, Hadi
\nunderlined the fact that HIV\/AIDS had become the world's worst
\nepidemic.<\/p>\n
Highlighting the economic cost of the epidemic, Hadi said a
\ncountry where 15 percent of the population had contracted
\nHIV\/AIDS would suffer a one percent decrease in GDP per year.<\/p>\n
\"Let take South Africa, which has a high prevalence of
\nHIV\/AIDS. It has been estimated the country will suffer a
\ndecrease in GDP of up to 17 percent by 2010,\" he said.<\/p>\n
South Africa will not be the only sub-Sahara African country
\nto face this plight as eight another countries are also expected
\nto be in a similar situation.<\/p>\n
The sub-Sahara African region currently has at least 29.4
\nmillion people with HIV\/AIDS out of a total of 42 million
\nthroughout the world.<\/p>\n
\"It is estimated that one million people have been infected
\nwith the virus in the Asia-Pacific region this year, raising the
\ntotal number of people with HIV\/AIDS in the region to 7.4
\nmillion, the second largest after the sub-Sahara Africa,\" Hadi
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"This is a grim picture for this nation, particularly for the
\nprivate sector. Therefore employers and company' owners have the
\nresponsibility to protect their workers from the threat of
\nHIV\/AIDS infection,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Males represent around 75 percent of the 3,568 recorded
\nHIV\/AIDS cases in Indonesia, with Jakarta being the area with the
\nhighest prevalence, followed by Papua, East Java, Riau and Bali.
\nThe main causes of transmission were unsafe heterosexual
\nintercourse (53.7 percent) and needle-sharing among injecting
\ndrugs users (20.9 percent).<\/p>\n
Separately, the International Labor Organization (ILO) country
\ndirector Alan Boulton said the workshop was part of the campaign
\nto fight HIV\/AIDS in the private sector, particularly in the
\nworkplace.<\/p>\n
\"The participating businessmen could share and discuss this
\nissue in a constructive environment, where those who already have
\nexperience in coping with HIV\/AIDS in workplace could inform and
\nteach the other businessmen of their experiences,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The three-day workshop, coorganized by ILO, NBA and UNAIDS,
\nis being attended by businessmen from ASEAN member countries as
\nwell as China, Nepal, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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