Indonesians not fully informed about AIDS<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): In spite of the media barrage of news on the
\nAcquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, Indonesians still do not
\nfully grasp the dangers of the disease for which there is no
\ncure, a leading expert on AIDS said yesterday.<\/p>\n
"AIDS in Indonesia is now at the same stage it was in Thailand
\nfive years ago. This is very scary," Nona Poeroe Utomo, the
\ndirector of the Indonesian AIDS Foundation, told The Jakarta Post
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
Nona said questions she receives from the public on her
\nregular talk show for a private Jakarta radio station indicate
\nthat ignorance of AIDS is not restricted to the poor, but is also
\ncommon among Indonesia's elite.<\/p>\n
"They are asking the basic questions like whether or not AIDS
\nis contagious," she said, stressing that the target audience of
\nher talk show is young executives. "This shows that the level of
\nawareness about AIDS among the public is not where it should be."<\/p>\n
She said the level of awareness among health authorities is
\nnot much better.<\/p>\n
The State Health Insurance Program, for example, excludes AIDS
\nbecause it is considered to be "self inflicted" although, like
\ncancer, it is a terminal disease.<\/p>\n
In the regions, the situation is even worse than it is in the
\ncapital.<\/p>\n
Many doctors and nurses working at health community centers
\nstill use disposable syringes more than once although they have a
\nsufficient stock supplied by the Ministry of Health.<\/p>\n
"It's something they can be proud of, if at the end of the
\nyear they could report to the authorities that they did not use
\nthe entire number of syringes supplied to them," Nona said.<\/p>\n
The AIDS Foundation was established last year with the
\nobjective of raising the public's awareness of the Acquired
\nImmune Deficiency Syndrome and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus
\n(HIV) which causes AIDS.<\/p>\n
Nona, a psychologist by training, who has her own counseling
\npractice, manages the day-to-day operations of the foundation.<\/p>\n
A number of prominent figures lend credence to the
\norganization, including former health minister Adhiyatma, former
\nminister of environment Emil Salim, tycoon and chairman of the
\nIndonesian Red Cross Ibnu Sutowo, lawyer Kartini Mulyadi and
\npsychologist Sarlito Wirawan.<\/p>\n
Government figures put the number of people having tested
\npositive for HIV in Indonesia at 256, but some officials and
\nexperts believe the actual number is much higher, some suggesting
\n50,000. What is certain is that the number of people reported
\nwith HIV has increased exponentially over the years.<\/p>\n
The reality of the AIDS danger for Indonesia hit home last
\nJune when President Soeharto established an inter-ministerial
\ncommittee to contain the spread of AIDS. The committee is chaired
\nby Coordinating Minister of People's Welfare Azwar Anas.<\/p>\n
Azwar said the committee is drawing up a combat action plan,
\npointing out that failure to act now could bring the number of
\nHIV infected people to 300,000 by the year 2000. This would
\nrepresent about $2 billion a year in medical costs.<\/p>\n
Yesterday, Nona blamed the ignorance largely on the public's
\nlack of access to accurate information about AIDS and HIV.<\/p>\n
She said the anti-AIDS campaign had been solely focused on a
\nspecific target, for example the red-light districts, as if the
\nvirus originated from there and would always remain there.<\/p>\n
The truth is that the virus was brought in from outside, "but
\nwe tend to forget that".<\/p>\n
AIDS extension workers sent to the red-light districts must
\nalso take part in the blame because they tend to give out minimum
\ninformation, thinking that the prostitutes, in view of their low
\neducational backgrounds, cannot absorb all of the facts and
\nadvise.<\/p>\n
Stop working<\/p>\n
One typical piece of advise given to a prostitute who had
\ncontracted the virus was that she should stop working because she
\nwas not healthy, Nona said.<\/p>\n
The key to the anti-AIDS campaign is information and education
\nand neither of these have been "adequate" in Indonesia, she said.<\/p>\n
On the question of education for teenagers, she said the
\nendeavor has been made difficult in the absence of sex education
\nas a subject at schools. "It represents a big leap if they
\nsuddenly have to be taught about AIDS from nothing."<\/p>\n
The AIDS virus is transmitted either through sexual contacts,
\ninfected syringes or contaminated blood transfusion.<\/p>\n
Nona said another major obstacle to the anti-AIDS campaign in
\nIndonesia is the people's attitude towards the disease.<\/p>\n
She also noted a tendency among Indonesians, including public
\nleaders, to dismiss lightly the dangers and implications by
\nstressing that traditional and religious values and the state
\nideology Pancasila are shielding the nation from the catastrophe.<\/p>\n
This kind of self denial is obstructing the campaign to drive
\nhome the message about AIDS, she said. (emb)<\/p>",
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