AIDS in West Java

AIDS in West Java

Being interested Minister Khofifah's warning about the lack of
attention by Indonesian males to take care of their reproductive
health, making them prone to HIV and AIDS infection (The Jakarta
Post, Dec. 2, 2000) and reading news by Pikiran Rakyat, about the
rapid spread of AIDS in West Java (Dec. 2, 2000). I wish to
remind everyone to take proper precautions in their sexual
relations, especially those in the province of where I live.

Joe Welder and Kevin Cobb in their book Men's fitness magazine
(1996: 248), say that according to the center for Disease Control
in Atlanta, about six million men and women in the United States
contract either gonorrhea, syphilis or chlamydia yearly. An
estimated 30 million Americans are infected with genital herpes,
an incurable, often painful disease that claims 500.000 new
victims every year.

Other alarming news (the Post, Dec. 1, 2000) has also warned
us that AIDS and HIV are now moving toward the east. Given all
these facts, it makes me shudder at the thought that West Java is
the next area to be hit by the killer disease. Note that West
Java, unlike most states in the U.S., is absolutely unready to
fight the disease, considering the available medical equipment in
hospitals across the province.

ODO FADLOELI

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