Most IDUs use unclean syringes, says ex-user
Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The House of Representatives held a discussion on Wednesday focused on giving injecting drug users (IDUs) easy access to sterile syringes to contain the rapid spread of the Human Immuno- deficiency Virus (HIV) among them.
"It is hard to get sterile syringes and therefore IDUs tend to share syringes, a way that makes it easy for them to get infected with HIV/AIDS," Yoga, an ex-IDU now living with HIV, said on Wednesday in a public dialog at the House compound.
In Indonesia, only medical doctors can legally obtain syringes. IDUs get them from the black market, where they are hard to find and expensive, so they usually used them collectively, said Yoga.
Spokesperson for Family Health International (FHI) Pandu Riono told The Jakarta Post that only 6 percent of IDUs in the Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya areas their own sterile syringes.
"In Jakarta, 25 out of every 1,000 high school students injects illegal drugs," he said, suggesting that many thousands of young people were sharing needles.
IDUs usually have places to store syringes secretly and go there when they need them.
"In Kampung Bali, a notorious drug-trafficking area in Central Jakarta, 115 out of 117 IDUs who volunteered to get an HIV test were found positive," said Pandu.
The Ministry of Health, Pelita Ilmu Foundation (YPI) and FHI will do a trial cooperation in the monitoring of the developments of IDUs in Kampung Bali, supplying them with sterile syringes, said Pandu.
"However, if we or anyone other than doctors hand over syringes to IDUs, we could be considered in violation of the law," he said.
On Tuesday, Minister of Health Achmad Sujudi said that his ministry had discussions with the national police on the possibility of giving sterile syringes to IDUs, but no agreement had yet been reached.
Wednesday's dialog was part of a one-week campaign to educate House members about the HIV/AIDS epidemic, so they will some understanding when a related bill is deliberated upon.