Bali is expected to treat around 4,000 people with HIV and AIDS by the
end of 2009, an activist said on the sidelines of the International
Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP).
As of May this year, there were 3,000 cases of HIV/AIDS on the tourist island.
“We are only able to reach out to 500 people with HIV/AIDS in Bali. There are many more out there,” said Putu Ayu Utami Dewi, director of Bali Plus, a support organization assisting people with HIV and AIDS.
Established in l994, Bali Plus works with eight groups including the transgender community, a gay community, commercial sex workers, a family support group and others across six regencies in Bali.
“We are trying hard to rebuild their self-esteem as well as to increase people’s awareness of HIV/AIDS to enable sufferers to survive and improve their quality of life,” Utami said.
During the event Tuesday, a number of young participants issued a joint declaration called the Bali Youth Force, an integrated alliance of local and international youth organizations and young people from the Asia Pacific who are advocating the rights of young people at the AIDS conference.
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