One inmate in Cipinang infected by HIV
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The warden of Cipinang Penitentiary in East Jakarta denied a report by the City Health Agency that HIV/AIDS was a major problem in Jakarta's penitentiaries, saying there was only one reported case of an HIV-positive inmate at Cipinang.
"There is only one HIV-positive inmate here. The doctor informed us that he (the inmate) is also a drug user. We have isolated him to prevent the infection from spreading," said Ngusman.
The problem of HIV/AIDS in Jakarta's penitentiaries came into the public spotlight when the head of the health agency reported that HIV was widespread in the city's penitentiaries.
Jakarta has three penitentiaries, in Cipinang; Salemba, Central Jakarta; and Pondok Bambu, East Jakarta.
According to health officials, 22 percent of 200 inmates at Salemba who were tested for HIV/AIDS last year tested positive. These results were immediately rejected by Salemba warden Bambang Kusbanu.
Activist Baby Jim Aditya told the wardens of the three penitentiaries not to close their eyes to the problem.
"Rather than play down the reports, it would be better if the prisons were honest about the problem and attempt to find a solution to it," Baby said.
"Covering up the problem is like planting a time bomb that will explode in the next five or six years," she added.
Commenting on the isolation of the HIV-positive inmate in Cipinang, Baby said it was "discriminatory and disregarded the human dignity of the patient".
It is public knowledge that a penitentiary provides the type of environment that allows all types of diseases and viruses to spread, she said.
"The situation is ripe for an endemic, i.e. a sexually homogeneous group who remain in a constrained area for a long period of time."
Salemba has a total of 2,106 inmates and detainees, while Cipinang has over 2,400.
Baby, who has provided informal AIDS counseling for inmates, said unsafe sex between prisoners, tattooing and drug abuse were common causes for the spread of the virus in prisons.
"There are very few reports of infected prisoners or prisoners who have died of AIDS-related diseases because many prisoners have no access to health service, so these cases are never recorded," she said.
The Ministry of Health estimates that between 80,000 and 120,000 Indonesians, out of a population of about 210 million, are HIV-positive, Baby said, though she believes this number is much higher.
The head of the City Health Agency, Chalik Masulili, said authorities had been aware for some time of HIV/AIDS in Jakarta's penitentiaries, thanks to an annual survey of prisoners.
However, he declined to reveal any data on the problem, saying the surveys were anonymous and classified. "No data can be made public."
"The survey results will serve as a reference point in the drafting of guidelines for our health office's programs," he said.
He added that his office provided counseling for HIV-positive inmates, but he did not go into details.