Unicef alarmed by rise in HIV/AIDS cases in RI
Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Alarmed by the increasing number of HIV/AIDS cases in Indonesia, the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) has decided to revise its five-year program to include HIV/AIDS awareness in its campaigns.
Unicef Regional Director for East Asia and Pacific Mehr Khan said here on Wednesday that HIV/AIDS had not been identified as a priority because Indonesia appeared relatively safe when the program was launched in 2001.
"Today we know that we must address it with urgency and so the mid-term review provides an opportunity to make that course correction," Khan said after reviewing Unicef's five-year joint program with the Indonesian government on Wednesday.
The program master plan stated that Unicef would provide supplies, cash grants, technical assistance and support services up to a total value not exceeding US$28.635 million over a period of five years from regular resources, and, subject to the availability of donor contributions, $83 million over the same period.
Khan was accompanied by State Minister/Head of the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) Kwik Kian Gie.
Unicef also pledged to pay special attention to protecting children from commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking in its key objectives aside from quality universal education, and reducing the maternal mortality rate and malnutrition.
Khan particularly said that Indonesia could examine how Cambodia dealt with HIV/AIDS. "I mention Cambodia because the country has very limited resources, but it is successful in handling the epidemic," she said.
She said Indonesia must somehow overcome its cultural problem in dealing with HIV/AIDS, because the first step in handling the problem was by acknowledging openly that the problem was real before stimulating a communal awareness.
"We must focus on the awareness of this threat and create the conditions which allow young people to learn about the threat and protect themselves adequately," Khan said.
A recent survey by the health ministry and non-governmental organization Family Health International (FHI) showed that in some provinces HIV/AIDS cases have been increasing by 15 percent annually.
The provinces are Riau, including Batam island, Jakarta, West Java, Papua and Bali.
Unicef also appreciated the enactment of the child protection law in 2002, but questioned its implementation.
"Unicef encourages the government to ensure the careful implementation of these good initiatives at all levels," she said.
She was also concerned about the alarmingly low number of Indonesian children under five who had birth certificates.
"When you have a situation where only 40 percent of children have birth certificates, this has major long-term implications for child protection, child rights and national planning of services such as schools and health services," she said.