No province free from HIV

No province free from HIV

BANDUNG: No Indonesian province is now free from HIV
infection, with the recorded number of people living with the
virus in the country standing at 7,098.

Head of the HIV/AIDS Eradication Commission Alwi Shihab said
on Wednesday the commission had remained unable to significantly
curb the growth rate of HIV infections one year after its
reinstatement.

"Indonesia is among one of the countries with the fastest
growth of people infected with the virus thanks to the widespread
use of shared needles. No province here is free from the virus,"
said Alwi, who is also the Coordinating Minister for the People's
Welfare.

He was chairing a coordination meeting of national drive
against HIV/AIDS.

The commission recorded that 6,050 people were known to have
been infected last year, although its estimate of the actual
number of people who had the virus was far higher, at 150,000.

Alwi said nearly 80 percent of the people infected were at
their productive age of between 20 and 39 years old. Most people
with HIV/AIDS lived in disadvantaged provinces. -- JP