Official says condoms vital for military operations

Official says condoms vital for military operations

JAKARTA (JP): A senior official at the Ministry of Health has
warned the government it is not enough to arm the Indonesian
Military (TNI) only with ammunition when they are deployed in
military operations where they have to leave their family for
long periods.

Physician Broto Wasisto said the government should provide
condoms for the soldiers each time they are sent on a long
military operation to protect them from diseases like HIV/AIDS.

Although there are still no reports of soldiers infected with
the fatal virus, it's time for TNI to reactivate its policy of
supplying its personnel with condoms to prevent sexually
transmitted diseases, he noted.

According to Broto, military personnel, like travelers, are
considered a vulnerable group, who are likely to contract HIV and
to spread it through sexual contacts.

"We have to protect our soldiers from such possibilities. We
have to supply them with condoms and to give them information on
the risks of unprotected sex," said Broto in a discussion at the
ministry last week.

However Broto added that although the military is likely to be
exposed to the disease, the fact that soldiers are required to
follow the chain of command will make it easier to enforce the
use of condoms.

Meanwhile, Director General for Contagious Diseases, Umar
Fachmi Achmadi, revealed that international peacekeeping forces
are included in the vulnerable groups mapped during the special
session of the United Nations General Assembly on HIV/AIDS last
month.

"It has become a threat because they are crossing borders
which enables the virus to spread more easily," he told
journalists.(bby)