'Media, private sector must help fight AIDS'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A senior journalist said yesterday that there
\ncomes a time when the press should interpret its stories, and
\nthat time comes when it writes about the deadly Acquired Immuno
\nDeficiency Syndrome (AIDS).<\/p>\n
\"We should not only present a series of facts. A feeling of
\ncompassion, empathy and emotion must be included in news
\npresentations on AIDS in order to arouse people's attention and
\nunderstanding on the problem,\" St. Sularto, the deputy chief
\neditor of the Kompas daily, told the national conference on AIDS
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
Sularto said that the media could play a significant role in
\nfighting AIDS. The media should also pay serious attention to
\nproblems related to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which
\ncauses AIDS.<\/p>\n
The three-day national conference on AIDS, which began on
\nWednesday, aims to provide a forum for policy-makers, religious
\nleaders, medical workers, academics and activists to set up
\nproper programs to fight against AIDS in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"HIV and AIDS are not just health problems. They are closely
\nrelated to social, economic and political issues. They are the
\nproblems of all human beings and their future,\" Sularto said.<\/p>\n
Theoretically, he said, the press should become closely
\ninvolved in all social problems. And since it first exploded in
\nthe l980s, AIDS has become a serious social concern.<\/p>\n
\"The press will never exaggerate if it gives ample coverage on
\nthe issue,\" he said, pointing out how inadequate the
\nunderstanding of most people, including media workers, was of
\nAIDS.<\/p>\n
\"A lack of understanding on AIDS-related problems has plunged
\npeople into a kind of social hysteria,\" Sularto said.<\/p>\n
He cited the controversy over the planned visit of American
\nbasketball star Magic Johnson, who tested positive for HIV, and
\nthe isolation imposed on a woman in Pontianak who admitted that
\nshe was HIV positive.<\/p>\n
\"These saddening stories wouldn't have happened had the people
\nbeen better-informed about the HIV and AIDS infections,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The conference also wanted the private sector to play a
\ngreater role in fighting AIDS.<\/p>\n
Bambang W. Soepriyanto, personnel director of the National
\nGobel electronics company, said the matter was new to the
\nbusiness world.<\/p>\n
\"In the past, we always thought that AIDS is a disease of
\npeople in the West, and that it could never affect us,\" he said.
\n\"Now, however, we have realized that AIDS is already here. Any of
\nus may become one of its victims.\"<\/p>\n
In cooperation with two anti-AIDS campaign organizations, the
\nKusuma Buana Foundation and the Program for Appropriate
\nTechnology, the National Gobel company has given 2,000 of its
\nemployees AIDS awareness training.<\/p>\n
AIDS mostly strikes people aged from 20 to 49 years; 60
\npercent of Indonesian workers are in this age group.<\/p>\n
Marzuki Abdullah, director of planning of the Bandung-based
\nBio Farma pharmaceutical company, said that AIDS awareness
\nprograms were important in protecting the company's 550 workers
\nfrom the deadly disease. (raw)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/media-private-sector-must-help-fight-aids-1447893297",
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