T

he Jakarta AIDS Prevention Commission (KPAP) has circulated data showing that Jakarta recorded the highest number of new HIV cases in the country this year.

The data, issued by the Health Ministry, revealed that there were 1,075 new cases of HIV infections in the capital as of March. West Java and East Java had the second and third highest number with 1,066 and 871 new HIV cases, respectively.

The data also revealed that Jakarta was the city with the third-highest number of new AIDS cases after South Sulawesi and East Kalimantan. The capital recorded 56 cases, while South Sulawesi and East Kalimantan recorded 107 and 102 cases, respectively.

'€œThe data shows that more residents in Jakarta are well-informed about this issue and therefore become more active in checking their HIV status,'€ KPAP secretary Rohana Manggala said recently.

Rohana further explained that the KPAP helped residents in Jakarta to check their HIV/AIDS status by providing free voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) facilities at every community health center (Puskesmas) in 33 districts throughout the capital.

The KPAP held the city'€™s third VCT event at St. Carolus Hospital in Salemba, Central Jakarta, last Thursday.

The event was part of the VCT program launched in October ahead of World HIV/AIDS Day, which falls on Dec. 1. The event involved around 300 medical personnel and paramedics, as well as representatives from a number of non-governmental organizations.

Rohana said that last Thursday'€™s VCT and similar programs on offer at various Puskesmas were ready to test 20,000 Jakartans for HIV/AIDS this year.

Based on Health Ministry data, by March of this year, 7,212 people nationwide were infected with HIV, while 595 others had contracted AIDS.

Of those infected with HIV, 3,015 were women and 4,197 were men.

In addition to the data, Rohana said that during the same period, 136 housewives had contracted
AIDS, a number significantly higher than the seven sex workers recorded by the KPAP to have contracted AIDS.

'€œMost of the housewives were infected because their husbands often had sex with different partners, including sex workers,'€ said Rohana.

She added that housewives were also more prone to HIV/AIDS because, feeling safe with their husbands, they tended to not use condoms. By contrast, most sex workers understood how to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS by using condoms. (agn)