AIDS body, police to ink harm reduction scheme

Dewi Santoso, Jakarta

The Jakarta National AIDS Commission (KPA Jakarta) and the Jakarta Police are set soon to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on protection for volunteers and receivers participating in a controversial harm reduction program.

The program is a scheme that provides injecting drug users (IDUs) with the alternatives of either methadone treatment or sterile, disposable needles. Methadone is a substitute drug that can be taken orally instead of by injecting.

KPA Jakarta deputy chairman Izhar M. Fihir said on Wednesday that the protection program would include three parties: field workers, IDUs and hospitals.

"The MOU should be signed as soon as possible, as we want to ensure that all parties involved in the program carry out their activities without fear of being accused of promoting the use of drugs," said Izhar.

The signing will take place later this month.

Such protection is needed because fieldwork requires volunteers to go to hangouts frequented by IDUs.

"They (volunteers) will try their best to encourage IDUs to go to rehabilitation centers. If they refuse, volunteers will then offer IDUs two other options: either to opt for methadone treatment or to use sterile, disposable needles," he said.

He asserted that this program was needed as a shortcut to prevent HIV/AIDS from spreading fast.

Recent data from the Ministry of Health shows that half of 124,000 to 169,000 IDUs are HIV positive. The number of people living with HIV/AIDS is estimated at 80,000 to 130,000.

The data also indicates that in Jakarta alone, there were approximately 27,000 IDUs, with an HIV prevalence rate of 46 percent to 78 percent. If no preventive action is taken, the number of people living with HIV/AIDS will rise to an estimated 1 million by 2010.

"That's why we need protection for IDUs as the police should see them from a different perspective -- as victims of drug abuse instead of criminals -- for only with help from the police will the harm reduction program work," said Izhar.

As for protection for hospitals, he said that it was important to ensure that hospitals participating in the harm reduction program would not be charged with the offense of promoting the use of illegal drugs.

To date, the program is available at drug rehabilitation centers and has reached 3,000 IDUs. Izhar said he hoped the program would reach 10,000 IDUs per year.