Indonesia faces danger of AIDS crisis

Debbie A. Lubis, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia is edging closer to a HIV/AIDS crisis of epidemic proportion as infection rates of the deadly HIV virus increase rapidly, especially among injecting drug users.

An HIV/AIDS study group said more than 30 people in Indonesia are infected with HIV/AIDS every month, especially through shared needles.

More worrying is that the sharpest increase of HIV cases through injecting drug users occurs among youngsters aged 14 to 25 years old, according to the HIV/AIDS study at the University of Indonesia and Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital.

"We are facing an emergency so we need all strategies from all parties to handle it," Zubairi Djoerban of the study group told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

He suggested that religious leaders, activists, teachers, the media, and other members of society should join forces to prevent more youngsters falling victim to HIV/AIDS.

First of all, he said, parents must protect their children from drug abuse, especially in cities like Jakarta where the risk of exposure to HIV/AIDS was high.

He estimated that at least 30 percent of some four million drug users in Jakarta were infected with HIV.

Zubairi's statement confirmed a report by the United Nations AIDS agency (UNAIDS) released on Tuesday that HIV prevalence measured in a Jakarta drug treatment center rose from 15.4 percent in 2000 to 40 percent by mid 2001.

"The situation in Indonesia underlines the fact that, where risky behavior exists, the epidemic may eventually spread, even if it takes some years for that spread to become apparent," UNAIDS said.

The Ministry of Health estimates that there are some 120,000 people with HIV/AIDS in the country.

The ministry said that most of those infected people contracted HIV/AIDS through sexual contact. However, as transmission through shared needles is on the rise, the number could increase drastically.

Haikin Rachmat, director of the division for the eradication of contagious diseases at the Ministry of Health, said that the government had prepared some guidelines to handle this nationwide epidemic.

"We are strengthening the policies on prevention, care support, and treatment programs for HIV/AIDS," he told The Jakarta Post from Jambi.

Haikin said that the policies would provide access for people with AIDS to get more affordable imported life-saving drugs and to get psychosocial support.

He added that government would also provide easy access for people with AIDS to medical assistance such as counseling, HIV tests, Anti Retroviral (ARV) drugs, and pain killers.

"Political will and commitment are not enough to fight HIV and AIDS because we also need financial support," Zubairi said.

The government launched a national movement on April 24 this year to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country with officials pledging some Rp 200 billion annually for the campaign to provide more affordable treatment for AIDS victims.

Nevertheless, Vonny, a doctor at the HIV/AIDS division at the Ministry of Health admitted that the AIDS prevention, training and monitoring programs still faced some constraints due to lack of financial support.

"Until now we still have no idea how to get the Rp 200 billion fund because the government has a limited budget too. You can imagine the situation at the provincial level," she told the Post.