The spread of HIV/AIDS in Indonesia continues unabated and without proper intervention, with the number of those infected projected to reach 400,000 by 2010, a minister says.
"Without sufficient intervention, by the year 2015 there will be at least 1 million Indonesians infected with HIV, 350,000 HIV- related deaths and 38,500 children infected," Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie said Friday.
"The HIV epidemic is one of the most important issues on the government's health agenda, which includes the high mortality rate of mothers, various infectious diseases and other health issues related to increasing life expectancy," he said.
Bakrie said among the government's efforts to alleviate the spread of HIV/AIDS was the introduction of a National Action Plan for 2007-2010, a scheme particularly aimed at high-risk groups, such as intravenous drug users and sex workers and their clients.
The plan, he said, would promote healthy lifestyles, counseling, voluntary testing and sexually transmitted disease prevention measures.
"This comprehensive program is prioritized in 19 provinces, including two provinces in Papua that need extra care as 80 percent of its population is at high risk," Bakrie said.
Budget constraints remain a primary challenge for the government to intervene. Bakrie said only 30 percent of the total HIV prevention budget was covered by the state.
"Having said that, this challenge is in no way reflective of the government's commitment to handling the issue, as the regional budget allocated for HIV prevention has significantly increased," he said.
At the provincial level, the allocation for HIV prevention programs increased to Rp 57 billion last year, a seven-fold increase from Rp 8 billion in 2004. The budget covers 23 of the country's 33 provinces. (*)
| 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|