Minister opposes condom use to fight HIV

Minister opposes condom use to fight HIV

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Not everybody is impressed by the nationwide campaign for the use
of condoms to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Among those who are apparently opposed to the campaign is
State Minister for Youth and Sports Affairs Adhyaksa Dault.

"I don't agree that we should promote condom use as a way of
preventing HIV/AIDS. That's not the way. It's more about how to
steer our young people away from promiscuity," Adhyaksa said
after opening an event to mark National Youth Day at his office
on Friday.

He said that his opposition to the condom campaign was
personal in nature, and he accepted that it had been
internationally approved as a HIV/AIDS harm reduction measure.

"If that has been accepted as the international standard, so
be it. But we have our own ways, including upholding our
religious principles and our nationalist principles," he said as
quoted by Antara.

Adhyaksa hails from the Muslim-based Prosperous Justice Party,
which touts Islamic morality as one of its main platforms. The
party has persistently campaigned against corruption and what it
considers to be indecency, which it says could lead to Indonesia
becoming a "failed nation".

The government has incorporated the use of condoms into its
national movement against HIV/AIDS, besides the provision of
sterile needles -- something that has also sparked controversy.
Both unsafe sex and needle-sharing play a major role in spreading
HIV infection worldwide.

As of June this year, the government had definitively recorded
7,098 people living with HIV/AIDS, 40 percent of them aged
between 10 and 24 years old. However, the government also
estimates that up to 150,000 people could be living with
HIV/AIDS, while some activists say the figure could reach one
million.

The World Health Organization said in its latest report that
between 20 and 30 percent of young people engage pre-marital sex
globally.

Adhyaksa said he could not prevent anyone, including non-
governmental organizations, from campaigning for the use of
condoms to prevent the spread of HIV.

"Moral decadence is spreading. Therefore, we should not
encourage them to use condoms. Anyway, not all condoms are
leakproof," Adhyaksa said.