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Jakarta has highest number of people living with AIDS: KPAP
The National AIDS Commission (KPAP) in Jakarta has revealed that the number of people living with AIDS in the capital has increased from 8,093 people in December 2015 to 8,656 in December 2016.
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A participant at a protest in Jakarta holds a poster stating "Free women and children from HIV-AIDS." (JP/Ni Nyoman Wira)
T
he Jakarta office of the National AIDS Commission (KPAP) has revealed that the number of people living with AIDS in Jakarta has increased by 563, rising from 8,093 people in December 2015 to 8,656 in December 2016.
Most of the new cases were people who had previously been reluctant to be tested for HIV and went on to develop AIDS , said KPAP's head of prevention promotion for Jakarta, Kristina Suharto.
“They didn’t know they had HIV and therefore were not on antiretroviral treatment. By the time they finally had themselves checked, they had AIDS symptoms,” Kristina said.
Kristina said that despite the increase, the KPAP was optimistic that the spread of HIV/AIDS in Jakarta could be curbed by 2020.
In 2016, the commission started a campaign through its program Fast Track City 2020-Ending the AIDS Epidemic.
The fast-track program aims for 90 percent of people with HIV to be aware of their condition, 90 percent of people diagnosed with HIV to be receiving antiretroviral therapy and 90 percent of people receiving antiretroviral therapy experiencing viral suppression by 2020.
The Health Ministry estimates there are 92, 920 HIV cases in Jakarta. By 2015, it had identified 47,440 cases and expects to identify the remainder by 2020.
“Until then we will encourage people to have themselves checked so we can identify those with HIV who aren't unaware of their status,” Kristina said. (hol/wit)
