AIDS information drives require coordination
JAKARTA (JP): An executive of the Kusuma Buana Foundation underlined yesterday the importance of coordination, among non- governmental organizations (NGOs), in disseminating information on the danger of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
Joedo Prihartono of the Kusuma Buana Foundation said that coordination in the cooperation mechanism of NGOs' activities is badly needed to prevent an overlapping in the provision of information on the dangers of AIDS.
Joedo made the remarks in response to the rising number of NGOs interested in providing services to prostitutes operating at the Kramat Tunggak prostitute rehabilitation center in North Jakarta.
He said that on the one hand the many NGOs interested in the services is welcome, but on the other hand their activities, if not coordinated carefully, will be weak, between one and the other.
"Therefore, it is time now to have a suitable mechanism for such a coordination," Joedo said.
The Kusuma Buana Foundation, established in 1983, was originally formed as a service to mothers and children in health issues. It began being interested in AIDS in 1993 when its research showed that 29.6 percent of the women who came to its six clinics had sexually related diseases.
The foundation realizes that Kramat Tunggak is one of the places which is at risk to the virus because it is near Tanjung Priok port and a great number of both local and foreign sailors frequent the district.
The foundation started informing prostitutes on the dangers of AIDS in early 1994, motivating them to offer condoms to their clients.
Kramat Tunggak is located in North Jakarta and was built by the city administration in 1970 to put prostitutes from around Tanjung Priok port into one complex.
The 11-hectare complex consists of 270 buildings, which can accommodate 2,300 prostitutes. At this time there are about 2,000 prostitutes operating there.
Joedo said that his foundation is currently exploring the possibility of cooperating with Mitra Indonesia and the Pelita Ilmu Foundation in the provision of canceling and more advanced education for prostitutes in Kramat Tunggak.
"The Kusuma Buana Foundation is also preparing another cooperation project with the Atmajaya Research Center to provide information to medicine sellers around the Kramat Tunggak area," he said.
Joedo also said that cases of both AIDS and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in Indonesia are increasing. The number of HIV carriers is reported to have reached 305 at present, but their real number could possibly jumps to 175,000 people, he said, warning that the increase may continue in the future.
He said information on prostitutes, the highest at risk group, about AIDS is still very limited. "Almost all of them consider themselves to be free of the disease. This ignorance is feared to lead to the rejection of the application of safer sex, such as the use of condoms," he said. (32/hhr)