NGOs told to take anti-AIDS drive to prostitutes
NGOs told to take anti-AIDS drive to prostitutes
JAKARTA (JP): The city administration is reluctant to launch
drives against Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in
areas where prostitution is rampant, fearing the campaigns would
lead the public to think they were authorized red-light
districts.
The spokesperson for the City Health Office, Rita Kusriastuti,
said yesterday that the city administration has never provided
medical care for prostitutes at any area other than Kramat
Tunggak in North Jakarta.
The administration has attempted to contain all organized
prostitution at Kramat Tunggak red-light district. It is the only
area in which the authorities tolerate the flesh trade.
Prostitution centers like Bongkaran in Central Jakarta,
Kalijodo in West Jakarta, Boker in East Jakarta, and Kampung
Perancis in Bekasi are not authorized.
Rita said that providing medical treatment and knowledge about
AIDS to prostitutes in red-light complexes could be seen as
authorizing their operation.
"We call on non-governmental organizations to help us deal
with prostitutes in the unauthorized red-light districts," she
said.
She said that unauthorized red-light districts have the
potential to spread AIDS, but she did not say why the government
does not put an end to them.
"We urge NGOs to work hand in hand with the government in
taking the prevention program to prostitutes in unauthorized
places," she said.
Rita said that the first AIDS case was found in Jakarta in
1987. Within just eight years Jakarta is now the province with
the highest number of HIV and AIDS cases in the country.
She said Jakarta has 69 HIV cases and 49 AIDS cases, with 31
deaths occurring in Jakarta. "Most of the cases were infected
through sexual relations," Rita said.
The city administration has formed a special commission to
handle AIDS. The commission has created a five-year target
program to combat the spread of AIDS in the city.
Rita said that the city health agency allocated a Rp 200
million (US$88,888) fund for the AIDS prevention program during
the 1994/1995 fiscal year, and Rp 250 million this fiscal year.
"The World Bank and USAID provide the city administration with
a total of Rp 20 billion and Rp 5 billion in loans respectively
for the anti-AIDS campaigns," Rita said. The World Bank loans
will be given within three years and the USAID loans will be
given within five years. (yns)