HIV/AIDS cases among young people on the rise

HIV/AIDS cases among young people on the rise

Debbie A. Lubis, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The number of young people with HIV/AIDS has soared in the past
three years due to increasing intravenous drug use (IDU),
activists say.

Joyce Djaelani Gordon, chairman of Kita Foundation, and Sri
Wahyuningsih, coordinator of Pelita Ilmu Foundation, urge
schools, parents, and the government to help educate the youth in
addressing issues such as drug abuse and reproductive health in
order to prevent the country from losing its young generation to
the epidemic.

"HIV has already infected those who are still young, creative,
and productive. I am afraid that in the next few years,
youngsters will become a lost generation and only grandparents
and grandchildren will survive," Joyce told The Jakarta Post
Friday.

Data issued by the Ministry of Health showed that the number
of people with HIV/AIDS in June 2002 stood at 2,950, 52 percent
of which were young people between 20 and 29 years old.

In 2001, the number of young people with HIV/AIDS stood at
1,859, up from 709 in 2000 and 526 in 1999.

University of Indonesia's Working Group (Pokdisus) on AIDS
told the Post that 67 percent of the 128 people with HIV/AIDS
currently undergoing treatment were between 20 and 30 years old.

"Young people are prone to HIV infection because they are not
exposed to sex education despite the fact that they are already
sexually active. Most of them are infected through needle and
syringe sharing and through unsafe sex," said Joyce, who is also
a psychologist.

Joyce herself conducted a survey among 137 drug addicts aged
between 16 and 32 years old in September, of which 131 were IDUs.
At least 81 of the IDUs said in the survey that they adopted
unsafe methods of injecting drugs.

The survey also showed that 113 people, or 83 percent, had
sexual relationships in the past twelve months without much
knowledge about the risks involved.

At least 76 people, or 56 percent, said that they received
information about sex from movies; while 75 people, or 55
percent, did not use any contraceptives during sexual
intercourse.

"Very few young people in Indonesia receive proper sex
education," Joyce said.

According to Joyce, only three percent of the 137 survey
participants received sex education from their parents, five
percent from schoolmates, 12 percent from books, and 19 percent
from friends. The survey also revealed that only 31 percent use
condoms during sexual intercourse.

Another survey conducted by Pelita Ilmu Foundation showed that
a great number of young people were vulnerable to drug abuse and
free sex. The survey was conducted in five big malls in Jakarta
involving 120 junior and senior high school students.

Joyce said that a preventive campaign targeting elementary
school students and pragmatic intervention -- such as
distributing condoms -- to people above 12 years of age would be
effective in addressing the rise in cases of drug addiction and
HIV infection among youngsters.

"Pragmatic intervention programs are aimed at the public,
especially to high risk groups, so they can attend counseling
sessions and be well-informed about reproductive health, the use
of condoms, safe needle and syringe use, and the HIV/AIDS
epidemic," Joyce said.

Sri Wahyuningsih of Pelita Ilmu Foundation said that peer
education could be the best way to address the problems, since
young people usually share their problems with their peers
instead of their parents.

She said that some 540 senior high school students in Jakarta
had been trained and informed about HIV/AIDS prevention,
reproductive health, and drug abuse.

"We believe that peer education can bring good changes in the
knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behavior of youth who are in
trouble," Sri said.