HIV/AIDS harm reduction project launched

P.C. Naommy, Jakarta

The controversial harm reduction program to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among injecting drug users (IDUs) has been put on trial in a pilot project launched on Friday.

Operational head of the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) Comr. Gen. Togar Sianipar said the agency would measure the success of the program based on the decline in the number of people contracting HIV/AIDS, the number of drug users and the number of drug traffickers.

"If the program fails to meet the requirements, we will not continue it," Togar said, on the sidelines of the program's launch at the Office of the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare here.

The pilot project will run for three years in Jakarta and Bali. It will involve local authorities, such as health offices, police, research centers and selected non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

The core of this program is to discourage the sharing of contaminated drug paraphernalia by providing sterile disposable needles and disinfectants, as well as providing methadone and buprenorphine as substitutes for heroin.

Aside from attempting to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, the program will also provide therapy and basic health services for drug addicts.

In Jakarta, the community outreach arms for the program are Atma Jaya University, with an information and health kiosk that covers Duren Sawit in East Jakarta, and the University of Indonesia's health research center, which covers the Depok area.

The project team has several working groups that will be in charge of running counseling programs, providing health services, and serving drug users who want to exchange their used needles at harm reduction posts.

Data from the Ministry of Health in 2003 showed that injecting drug users accounted for more than 80 percent of an estimated 80,000 people living with HIV/AIDS nationwide.

The ministry also estimated the number of addicts injecting drugs in the country at between 124,000 and 196,000 at the end of 2002.

"This project is so important, we're racing against time, since more than 50 percent of the IDUs in Jakarta have contracted HIV/AIDS through sharing syringes," said project manager Tarmizi Taher.

Tarmizi, who was at one time religious affairs minister, said the situation was worsened by the fact that at least 3.94 percent of Indonesia's population of 220 million are drug users.

Earlier, Jakarta deputy chairman of the National AIDS Commission (KPA) Izhar M. Fihir said the program was expected to reach 10,000 users per year. To date, NGOs -- which set up needle-exchange programs long before the launch of the government-sponsored program -- have reached 3,000 injecting drug users.

The harm reduction program is based on a memorandum of understanding between the BNN and the KPA signed on Dec. 8, 2003.

The program, however, has raised concerns among the public and law enforcers, who fear that it will justify drug abuse and encourage drug trafficking.

"Especially in this case, we don't want to be a force of opposition, but we must also take the lack of law enforcement, low discipline, and weak control in the country into consideration," said Togar.

He said strict monitoring was needed to avoid possible abuses of the program.

KPA secretary Farid W. Husain said the program would be evaluated annually by a monitoring committee, which involves Australian-based NGO, the Center for Harm Reduction.