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Students told to nip bad habits in the bud
In Central Jakarta, a high school campaign on HIV and AIDS prevention has started with students warning their peers of the dangers of drug abuse and unprotected sex
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n Central Jakarta, a high school campaign on HIV and AIDS prevention has started with students warning their peers of the dangers of drug abuse and unprotected sex.
Their message of abstinence was clear.
Muhammad Rafi, a sophomore at State High School SMA 25, is one of the 92 ambassadors of the Jakarta Stop AIDS campaign.
He has visited more than 15 schools with his friends speaking about preventing HIV/AIDS.
“We inform students about HIV/AIDS and about how one can contract the virus from drug use and unprotected sex,” Rafi, who became an ambassador after participating in The Jakarta Stop AIDS workshop in June, said.
Sophomore students from 30 high schools participated in the workshop where they were given materials on public speaking and leadership as well as information on the virus. From the workshop, 92 students were chosen as ambassadors of the program. The program has reached some 23,700 students in Central Jakarta.
Veronica Colondam, the CEO of one of program organizers, Yayasan Cinta Anak Bangsa (YCAB), said they were trying to reach students who have yet to be exposed to drugs.
“Prevention is always better than curative measures,” she said, adding that students can more easily influence their peers to adopt positive attitudes than adults.
Sinta Kaniawati, the general manager of another of the program organizers, Unilever Indonesia foundation, said the program was part of Unilever’s social efforts to educate on individual and public health.
Central Jakarta health subagency head Hakim Siregar said the municipality was chosen as the pilot project for the program because of its high rate of HIV infections.
Hakim said that as of September 2009 some 433 people were infected with the virus.
According to Health Ministry statistics, there were 23,632 infections and 3,492 AIDS-related deaths nation-wide in the first quarter of 2009.
Rafi said he informed fellow students about the risk of contracting HIV through sex. “We tell them there is still a risk of contracting AIDS through the use of condoms because they have pores through which the virus can pass,” he said. Rafi said he learned the scaremongering information in the workshop.
According to the WHO, laboratory studies have found that viruses (including HIV) do not pass through intact latex condoms even when they are stretched or stressed.
Sinta said the workshop was based on material from the National AIDS Commission (KPA). She said the workshop informed the stu-dents HIV could be contracted from intravenous drug use and unprotected sex.
“We teach them about reproductive health,” she said, adding they did not promote the use of condoms as protection. “Our message is to not engage in free sex, because it is not the time to engage in the act yet,” she said closed-mindedly.
The workshop promotes sex abstinence among sophomore students in 30 high schools.
