EU helps with anti-AIDS campaign

EU helps with anti-AIDS campaign

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia yesterday launched a project to
control and contain the spread of sexually transmitted diseases
(STDs), including AIDS, with the assistance of the European
Union.

The project is chiefly intended to impede the spread of the
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Indonesia's major cities --
Jakarta, Surabaya and Bandung.

Some of the specific objectives of the project include
assessing the feasibility and effectiveness of supplying
reproductive health services and educational and counseling
services in a suitable setting for commercial sex workers and
their clients.

The chief representative of the European Union in Indonesia,
Klauspeter Schmallenbach, in his remarks at the project's
launching, said the project includes the transfer of know-how and
expertise through the training of Indonesian physicians, nurses
and technical staff.

"In this regard, we think that the experience of doctors and
researches from the University of Antwerp (Belgium) gained in and
outside Europe will prove most important," Schmallenbach said.

The Rp 2 billion project which is entirely financed by the
European Union, is part of EU's global efforts to contain the
spread of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

Indonesian officials acknowledge that Indonesia, given its
geographic location, is particularly prone to the spread of the
disease for which there is no cure. They say the 275 people who
to date have tested positive for HIV is only the tip of the
iceberg and that a more accurate figure of people infected would
be in the region of 40,000.

Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Azwar Anas, who
heads the National Commission for the Control and Prevention of
AIDS, in his speech at the launching ceremony welcomed the EU's
gesture to assist Indonesia with its anti-AIDS drive.

Through the project, "we hope we can gain technology from the
developed countries in Europe about STD and HIV/AIDS."

Azwar however said the national anti-AIDS strategy drawn by
his commission targets families, urging them to strengthen
resistance so to control and prevent the spread of the disease.

This, he considered, as the right approach "due to our
cultural roots which are based on respecting the family
institution."

Later, responding to reporters' questions, Azwar ruled out the
need at this stage for Indonesia to establish a hospital
specializing in AIDS. Existing hospitals should be adequate to
deal with the problem, he added.

Azwar said his commission will take the anti-AIDS awareness
campaign to all parts of the country.

He said a recent survey by the Central Bureau of Statistics
showed that only 32 percent of all rural housewives are aware of
the disease, compared to 60 percent of all urban housewives.
(emb)