On AIDS cases

On AIDS cases

It is a pity that in his generally accurate article on AIDS in
Indonesia, An uphill battle against AIDS in Indonesia ( The
Jakarta Post, Dec. 3, page 7), Thang D. Nguyen perpetuates the
myth that "... gays are one of the largest groups of AIDS victims
[in Indonesia]".

Apart from his unfortunate reference to "AIDS victims" -- a
term which has been considered taboo in the press since the 1983
Denver Declaration -- the fact is that only 6.3 percent of the
AIDS cases reported to the Ministry of Health resulted from what
is termed homosexual activity. And it is probable that the
majority of these cases are among waria (transsexuals), who do
not consider themselves as "gay".

Now I know that I always argue that we should take care in
extrapolating these reported statistics to the total population
of those living with AIDS. But the fact is that in Indonesia, by
far the majority of HIV infections result from injecting drug use
and from heterosexual activities.

Many in Indonesia still believe that AIDS is a disease of gays
and foreigners. The Post should beware of perpetuating this myth.
The writer should also be aware that his statement that "AIDS
victims dare not speak out and contribute to this fight by
educating others ..." ignores the fact that, despite the risks, a
significant number of people living with HIV/AIDS within the
Spiritia network do speak out, including on TV. They do indeed
play a very important role in this education process.

CHRIS W. GREEN
Treatment Educator
Spiritia Foundation
Jakarta