Officials, public asked to fight AIDS seriously
Officials, public asked to fight AIDS seriously
JAKARTA (JP): The chairman of the National Commission to
Contain the Spread of AIDS, Azwar Anas called on all government
officials and the public yesterday to be serious in their efforts
to curb the spread of the lethal disease.
"I beg you from the deepest part of my heart not to play with
games with the efforts to fight AIDS," he was quoted by Antara as
saying at the opening of the national coordinating meeting of the
health ministry in Ciloto, West Java.
In developing countries, it costs between US$1,400 and $2,500
to treat an AIDS patient, while in developed countries the cost
is as high as $30,000, according to Azwar, who is also
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare.
Serious dedication is critical especially since a vaccine for
the incurable disease has not been found, while medicine to
relieve the pain often tends to reach prohibitive levels, he
said.
He called on the meeting to formulate a strategy and devise an
information system to strengthen the "family defense system", or
how to protect themselves, against AIDS.
As many as 266 people in the country have tested positive for
the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Azwar said. He estimated
that the actual number of the HIV infected people could be as
high as 100,000.
Most of the cases were found in Jakarta and Irian Jaya.
Eighty five percent of the cases were infected through sexual
contact. The others were infected from disposable syringes and
blood transfusions.
Minister of Health Sujudi said that people infected with AIDS
should use condoms to prevent the spread of the virus to their
spouses.
"This does not mean that we encourage the use of condoms as if
it were a cure for the disease, but just to prevent the spread of
the virus," Sujudi said.
The government is planning a massive campaign with a motto of:
Legitimate sexual relationship which is based on love. Organized
by the National Family Planning Coordinating Board, the campaign
is scheduled to be launched in all 27 provinces at the end of
1995.
Sujudi in his speech also said that the health ministry would
increase the number of grass-roots health centers and mobile
health centers to provide better service for the public.
On a separate issue, he said that 108 of the 224
pharmaceutical companies have implemented the "standard on good
manufacturing practice," 91 others are still in the process of
improving the standard, while the rest use the facilities of the
other manufacturers to produce the drugs.(sim)