Govt to start up special AIDS hospital this year

Govt to start up special AIDS hospital this year

JAKARTA (JP): The government plans to establish a hospital for
patients of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) this year.

The government has appointed Koja general hospital in North
Jakarta to specialize in treating AIDS patients, said Suyuno
Yahya, an aide to Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare
Azwar Anas.

"The hospital is expected to lead other hospitals in the
country in treating AIDS patients," Yahya said on Tuesday.

He was briefing reporters after a limited cabinet meeting
attended by ministers under the charge of Azwar Anas.

The Koja hospital was originally set up to specialize in
treating highly communicable disease such as cholera and
smallpox. But since Indonesia had been able to contain these
various epidemics, the hospital was turned into a general
hospital.

The government now plans to restore Koja into its original
function but specially to treat AIDS patients, Yahya said.

Its facilities will be upgraded accordingly, he added.

He added, however, that the hospital was not intended to
become a quarantine for people who have the disease.

The decision was taken because of the rapid increase in the
number of people in Indonesia who have acquired the human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) which causes AIDS.

According to Yahya, the number of people who tested positive
for HIV has jumped from 216 in June to 262 in July.

Government officials and foreign experts believe that the
actual number could be 200 times more than the reported figure.

President Soeharto early this year set up a national
commission to prevent the spread of AIDS. Next month, the
government plans hold a meeting bringing officials from all 27
provinces to discuss strategy of containing the spread of AIDS.
(emb)