An Overview of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Indonesia

The Epidemic

Across the globe 40 Million people are currently infected with the HI virus while 3
Million people have to die o f A ID S each year. Discovered 25 years ago, HIV/AIDS has
killed a total of 25 Million people to date. In Indonesia the first incidence w as
recorded in 1987. With the economic crash of the mid 1990s which hit all South East
Asian economies hard (and which destroyed two deca des of economic growth in
Indonesia) many people were plunged back into poverty. At the time, Indonesia saw
also political upheavals overthrowing the authoritarian regime of Suharto. The
transition to democracy which was ushered in by these events, however, was
accompanied by rising unemployment and increasing poverty.  It was at this time that
intravenous drug use, historically not known in Indonesia, became a widespread social
phenomenon which propelled the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the country then onwards.

Who is Particularly at Risk?

While HIV/AIDS prevalence rates are still low with only 0.2% of 240 Million Indonesians
being infected, the picture is one where six provinces feature worryingly high
prevalence rates of up to 3% (Riau, West Java, Jakarta, East Java, Bali West Papua
and East Papua).

Apart from this, the disease is still concentrated among the following three
populations most at risk:

        Intravenous Drug Users (IDUs)

        Sex Workers and their clients
        Men who have sex with men (MSM)
 
Since 1999, however, HIV/AIDS is exponentially rising among heterosexuals - who so
far have not belonged to any of the high risk groups. There are a number of reasons
for this; HIV/AIDs is transmitted to partners or wives of those with high risk
behaviour: Intravenous drug users for instance often sell sex to finance their
addiction. Second, the majority of sex workers are still engaging in unprotected sex,
thus infecting their clients who then infect their partners. What is more,
homosexuality is strongly stigmatised in Indonesia which results in many MSMs living
out their sexual preferences surreptitiously whilst infecting heterosexual partners.
Among rural populations temporary migration for employment is another important
factor that contributes to the spread of the disease. Finally, in some of the high
prevalence regions in Indonesia (e.g. Papua) a phenomenon exists of paid
“transactional” sex between adolescents aged 15-24.
Outlook for the Future

HIV/AIDS awareness is still low throughout the country: According to the National AIDS
Commission of Indonesia, 48% of the population in Papua never heard about HIV/AIDS
as a disease, while USAID proclaims that among high risk groups in Jakarta city only
54% of sex workers, 56% of MSM and 18% of IDUs, respectively, have reported to use
condoms and/or sterile needles regularly. 

UNAIDS therefore projects that if current trends continue and no major breakthrough
occurs in HIV Prevention programmes, then by 2015 about 1 million people will live
with HIV/AIDS in Indonesia and 350 000 will have died of the infection since 1987.

http://sites.google.com/site/hivaidsinindonesia/

Number of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Indonesia

on the Rise
August 26, 2010

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Jakarta. The HIV/AIDS problem in Indonesia needs to be addressed seriously as the number of people
living with the condition continues to rise from year to year, the Health Ministry said.
To discuss key issues related to drug abuse and HIV/AIDS, the ministry, the United Nations, and the
National AIDS Reduction Commission are to hold a round-table meeting on the topic at Hotel Mulia in
Jakarta on August 30, 2010, it said in a press statement on Thursday.

According to the ministry’s data, the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in Indonesia as per June 2010
was 21,770 compared to only 607 a year earlier. 

In terms of how they were infected, the data showed 10,722 cases happened through heterosexual
relations, 718 through homo- and bisexual relations, 8,786 through drug injections, 20 through blood
transfusion, 587 through perinatal transmission, and 937 cases by unknown means.

The government had launched a harm reduction program as one of its policies to reduce the adverse
effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the community.

Meanwhile, Harry Azhar Aziz, Phd., vice chairman of the House of Representatives (DPR)`s Commission
XI said in Jakarta on Thursday social and economic conditions were often the main factor in the
emergence of AIDS cases in Indonesia.

“The low capacity of rural communities and economic gender inequality causes low levels of public
education and lead to limited access to public information,” he said.

Therefore, the state budget funds particularly in the health sector should be used as optimally as possible,
especially to familiarize the public with HIV/AIDS prevention methods.

“The health budget plays a very important role in improving people’s welfare, so the government should
optimize the use of the budget to improve the welfare and quality of human resources in Indonesia,” he
said.

Antara

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