Congress on AIDS in Semarang

SEMARANG: Secretary-General of the Ministry of Health Dedy S. Argadiredja opened a three-day congress on AIDS/HIV here on Friday.

The congress, sponsored by the Indonesian Association of Hematologists and Blood Transfusion, is aimed at discussing ways of how to prevent the spread of the deadly disease.

Speaking on behalf of Minister of Health Sujudi, Dedy said that the government fully supported the association's efforts to pay greater attention to the spread of AIDS/HIV.

"This congress is timely as AIDS and HIV have increasingly become a serious problem, which also affects drug addicts, mainly youths," Dedy said.

He urged participants of the congress to intensify efforts to disseminate information on the dangers of the disease to the public.

The congress was attended by 1,000 participants, including dozens of representatives from European and Asian countries. (har/09)