Sidoarjo Health Office Denies 522 Students Contracted HIV in a Year, Clarifies Data

The Sidoarjo Health Office (Dinkes) has denied that the number of students in Sidoarjo exposed to HIV reached 522 people in a single year, as circulated on social media. Head of the Sidoarjo Health Office Lakhsmie Herawati Yuwantina stated that based on cumulative data from 2001 to 2026, the number of HIV cases in the 11-17 age group was recorded at 60 cases. “Of these 60 cases, 7 children have died. So currently there are 53 school-age children identified as living with HIV,” Lakhsmie told reporters on Thursday (23/7/2026). She explained that the figure of 53 is an accumulation over 25 years, not the number of new cases in a single year as perceived from the viral social media post. In addition to the student age group, the Health Office also recorded 117 HIV cases in children aged 0-10 years. Of that number, 35 children were reported to have died and 50 children are no longer monitored (lost to follow-up), either due to moving domicile or other reasons. “Thus, there are currently 32 toddlers and children still identified as undergoing treatment. All of them routinely take antiretroviral (ARV) drugs,” she clarified. Lakhsmie stressed that the majority of HIV cases in early childhood occur due to transmission from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding. She therefore urged the public not to easily trust unverified information. Meanwhile, Ferry Efendi, Programme Director of the Delta Crisis Center (DCC) Foundation, said that his institution’s data differs from the Health Office’s because the scope of recording is not the same. According to Ferry, as of 21 July 2026, DCC is assisting 5,107 people with HIV/AIDS. This figure does not represent all cases in Sidoarjo, but only those within DCC’s assistance network.