Jakarta – Nearly half the residents of Indonesia's remote Papua province have never heard of HIV/AIDS despite the virus' prevalence there being 15 times the national average, a new internationally funded research report shows.

The lack of knowledge about HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases is a major contributor to the burgeoning epidemic in Indonesia's easternmost region, according to a copy of the report obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday. The report urges more money be spent on education programs and condom availability.

The report, which is due to be published later this week, mapped the spread of the disease in Papua, one of the most remote and poorest regions in Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago home to some 235 million people.

The study was funded by the World Bank, the U.S government and US nonprofit Family Health International.

Researchers found HIV infection rates in Papua were as high as 3.2 percent in mountainous areas, compared to 1.8 percent in easily accessible low-lying areas, indicating a higher risk in isolated farming communities where education is poorest.

Researchers found 48 percent of Papuans were unaware of HIV/AIDS. That figure rose to 74 percent of those who did not attend or complete elementary school.

HIV prevalence reached 5.6 percent among non-circumcised men in Papua, compared to 1 percent among the circumcised, reinforcing findings of previous international studies that found circumcision reduces the risk of catching the virus.