Firms criticized for for AIDS indifference

JAKARTA (JP): Company executives have poor commitment in AIDS prevention at workplaces, a former minister said in a seminar yesterday.

"Many company executives were still indifferent to AIDS prevention programs, claiming financial shortage," Emil Salim said.

The threat of AIDS is invisible and will become a big problem within 10 to 15 years, he said.

A company should perceive allocating resources to AIDS prevention as depreciation costs for the company's assets, he said at the seminar jointly held by PT National Gobel, Kusuma Buana Foundation and the Association of Indonesian Employers.

Emil also deplored misunderstanding of the disease among Indonesians, including company executives.

"Many still see AIDS as a mere result of promiscuity. Such misconception often causes people to avoid talking about the disease," he said.

This unfavorable condition is a cultural barrier for HIV/AIDS prevention, he said.

Emil, a former cabinet member with an environment portfolio, has been involved in a pilot project to promote AIDS prevention among companies since 1995.

The project, in cooperation with PT National Gobel and a non- governmental organization, the Kusuma Buana Foundation, so far could only recruit three companies to implement an AIDS prevention program.

Emil said that because most AIDS victims are of a productive age, a company could see AIDS prevention as part of a long-term investment in maintaining productivity and competitiveness.

A total of 385 people between the ages of 20 and 40 have been affected by HIV and AIDS in Indonesia, according to the Ministry of Health.

Up to March 1997, the total figure of people affected by HIV and AIDS was 524. Unofficial figures, according to Kusuma Buana Foundation, reached 169,000 by the end of 1995.

APINDO chairman Purbadi Hardjoprajitno said many association members had not taken preventive measures against AIDS in their companies.

It was one of the reasons the association held the seminar.

Only 15 companies were represented at the seminar. Executives from 25 companies were invited to the seminar, out of 6,000 corporate members of the association.

Kusuma Buana Foundation and PT National Gobel will hold a series of workshops on AIDS prevention for companies in Jakarta.

The workshops will be held from May 26 to May 28 for company executives, from June 1 to June 3 for medical personnel and from June 4 to June 6 for company staff. (03)