U.S., Indonesia fight HIV/AIDS

Lynn B. Pascoe, Jakarta

AIDS Day is Dec. 1. The people of the United States, through President George W. Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, are privileged to be a partner with the people of Indonesia in building a future free from AIDS.

This year's World AIDS Day observance focuses on women and girls. In Indonesia, 23 percent of the estimated 90-130,000 HIV- positive people are women. In Papua, 50 percent of the estimated 14,000 infected Papuans are women. In Timika, more housewives are infected than female commercial sex workers.

Even when not infected themselves, women end up caring for the sick and orphans, putting their livelihoods at risk. Many girls become heads of households while still children, limiting their potential. Women pass HIV to their children through pregnancy and childbirth

HIV is spreading rapidly in Indonesia among sub-populations with high-risk behavior, mainly through the channels of commercial sex and injecting drug use. Drug injection was little known in Indonesia until the mid 1990s. But the situation is changing. In 2004, the government estimates that there are up to 150,000 drug injectors nationwide, most of them young men and as many as 50 percent of them infected with HIV (up from zero in 1997).

Practices such as injecting drug use, multiple concurrent sex partners and sex trafficking fuel the spread of the virus, and require immediate attention. The U.S. government is pleased to be working with the Indonesian government and civil society organizations in this early stage to avert the spread of HIV.

Under President Bush's $15 billion Emergency Plan, the American people are helping the world meet HIV/AIDS challenges. Over 100 nations receive U.S. assistance under the Emergency Plan. The plan also has a special focus on 15 nations in Africa, the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia that collectively have half the world's infections.

Although Indonesia is fortunately not one of these 15 countries, the U.S. government is committed to helping Indonesia prevent new infections. Through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), we will provide $45 million in HIV/AIDS assistance to Indonesia over the next five years, including $9 million for prevention and awareness in 2004.

The U.S. plan focuses on preventing new infections, bringing lifesaving therapy, and caring for those infected and affected by the disease, including orphans and vulnerable children. Globally, the American people have invested $2.4 billion in the fight this year -- more than all other donor governments combined.

In Indonesia, USAID, through its partner organization, Family Health International (FHI), is supporting a wide-ranging prevention program, as well as, care support and treatment for those infected and affected by HIV. Women receive special attention on how to protect themselves, where to seek counseling and testing, and where to find medications for themselves and their children, if they are infected.

One special focus of the Plan for AIDS Relief is prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Worldwide, the U.S. quickly trained 14,700 health workers and built capacity at over 900 different health care sites to prevent transmission. In Indonesia, USAID supports prevention of mother-to-child transmission with access to HIV testing and preventive medications for those in need in Papua and Riau.

The U.S. also supports behavior change strategies for girls to protect themselves against HIV/AIDS. USAID's "Aksi STOP AIDS" program has offered thousands of women throughout 10 provinces access to information and prevention, and is committed to working with the Government of Indonesia and non-governmental organizations to stem the spread of HIV and its negative impacts on women, girls and their children.

The American people are privileged to be work together with the people of Indonesia to turn the tide against HIV/AIDS.

The writer is U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Lynn B. Pascoe.