Experts support condom campaign despite opposition
JAKARTA (JP): Some experts have voiced support for the campaign to use condom in limited areas even though Moslem scholars have condemned the program.
Marcel Latuihamallo, a manager of the Mitra Indonesia Foundation's telephone counseling hotline for AIDS, and Dr. Kartono Mohamad, vice chairman of the AIDS Foundation, have told The Jakarta Post that they supported the use of condom campaign in red light districts as an effort to combat the spread of AIDS.
The Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI) have repeatedly condemned the campaign.
Its statement was based on the belief that by distributing condoms the distributors are pushing the people to increase their extramarital sexual activities.
Latuihamallo said in a telephone conversation with the Post recently that the proper use of condoms had proved to be effective to prevent venereal disease and HIV.
His foundation has distributed condoms in red light districts and given information to the visitors about the proper use of contraceptive device, he said.
According to Latuihamallo, providing condoms in hotels are not very effective because not all guests want to sleep with prostitutes there.
"If the hotel wants to provide condoms, it has to sell them at its drug store," he added.
"The case is different if the hotel is usually used by prostitutes," Latuihamallo said.
Kartono Mohamad said that he supported the program.
"A campaign for condom using in prostitution areas will work," he said.
"The situation would be more dangerous if prostitutes' clients refused to use condom," he added.
He told the Post that a research had shown the effectivity of condom using in the effort to prevent the spread of AIDS. "It is 95 percent effective," he said.
Kartono said that statements on morality is not relevant in this case. "We should not talk about morality for men who frequent brothels," he added.
"If men cannot control their hunger for what is called 'sex away from home', they should provide themselves with condoms," he also said.
The government has started a campaign to make families aware of the danger of the incurable disease.
At the monthly meeting to discuss HIV/AIDS in March, the State Minister of Population/Chairman of the National Family Planning Board, Haryono Suyono, said that the board is not campaign safe sex by condoms.
He said that the board preferred to use positive campaign namely "Love Your Family."
The main target of the campaign is 40 million families who have risks to be infected by the disease.
Haryono said recently that to prevent AIDS by the distributing condoms is not effective.
He said to distribute condoms at red light districts is not an appropriate answer to the spread of HIV/AIDS.
The HIV/AIDS sufferers in Indonesia until last month was registered at 312, 10 of whom had died. Sixty of the 312 are foreigners who have gone back to their countries. (05)