Pelita Ilmu Foundation clarifies

Referred to your article titled HIV/AIDS activists collaborate with police, published in your May 21 issue and written by Dewi Santoso, I, as the manager of the program, would like to make the following comments:

The information your reporter got from Indonesian HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care Project (IHPCP) adviser Palani Narayanan is not true, particularly as stated in paragraph ten and eleven of the article which reads as follows: "We'll train 60 police officers every month, with two weeks of theory and one week of field practice when we'll take them to meet members of non-governmental organization (NGO) appointed to distribute the methadone and collect disposable needles, said IHPCP adviser Palani Narayanan.

"The Three NGOs that are appointed for the program are Atma Jaya University Kiosk, which covers Duren Sawit in East Jakarta; the University of Indonesia which covers the Depok area; and the Pelita Ilmu Foundation (YPI), which covers Kampung Bali in Central Jakarta. 'This way, we hope the police officers will understand what the harm reduction program is and cooperate with the NGO workers,' said Narayanan."

As the representative of the Pelita Ilmu Foundation, one of the NGOs mentioned in the article, I would like to explain our reservations as follows: * The IHPCP has never appointed nor entered into any form of cooperation with the Pelita Ilmu Foundation to distribute methadone and collect disposable needles in Kampung Bali. * In fact, the Pelita Ilmu Foundation has been running it's own harm reduction program since 2000 in collaboration with the local community and the police. Our outreach program has been successful in helping around 1389 drug users to reduce their risk of HIV infection and escape addiction.

Meanwhile, the Needle Exchange Program has only been offered to selected IDUs coming from previous detoxification programs. These are people who have shown strong commitment and adherence, and who are willing to go through an interview and counseling process. Some of them have also been trained to become effective outreach officers in the field. They also help to conduct Voluntary HIV Counselling and Testing (VCT), which to date has been participated in by 198 IDUs.

PUNGKY DJOKO Manager of Kampung Bali Program Pelita Ilmu Foundation Jakarta

Note: The article was written based on interviews with the Indonesian HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care Project (IHPCP) and the Jakarta National AIDS Commission.

--Editor