Pelita Ilmu Foundation clarifies

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