Jon Afrizal and Agus Maryono, Jambi, Purwokerto and Yogyakarta – Against a backdrop of HIV/AIDS infection rates that are rising at alarming levels in Jambi, activists and sex workers in Central Java, Yogyakarta and West Java commemorated World AIDS Day in different ways on Monday.
Data from the Jambi Health Office shows 184 people have tested positive for HIV as of April this year, with 106 of them contracting AIDS and 59 dead.
"The highest percentage of those diagnosed, 61.02 percent, are drug addicts who contracted the disease through the sharing of needles. Of them, 41 contracted HIV and 66 AIDS, and 36 have died," said Azwar Djouhari, head of the Jambi Health Office's Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Division.
He added some 25.42 percent contracted the disease through heterosexual intercourse, 1.69 percent through marital intercourse, 6.78 percent through homosexual intercourse and0.1 percent through mother-infant transmission.
In Purwokerto, Central Java, some 70 sex workers and several AIDS activists in the resort area of Baturaden marked World AIDS Day by participating in a karaoke contest organized by the Banyumas Stop AIDS Movement.
"By doing this we can gather them in large numbers and at inform them of the importance of health in the framework of early AIDS prevention," group coordinator Bangkit Ari Sasongko told The Jakarta Post.
Besides prizes for the winners, the event also saw the presentation of an award for the most health-conscious sex worker, given to a worker one who underwent routine voluntary health checks and counseling.
There are about 200 sex workers operating in Baturaden, Bangkit said, adding the main issue in HIV/AIDS prevention there was the scant awareness on their part about the importance of medical examinations.
In Yogyakarta, World AIDS Day was commemorated differently, with hundreds of HIV/AIDS activists from dozens of NGOs staging performances and unfurling a giant cloth replica of a condom down the sidewalk of Jl. Malioboro.
Some 20 anti-AIDS groups took part in the events that began early Monday morning at Abu Bakar Ali field, at the northern end of the famed street.
"This event is aimed at raising awareness among people that they shouldn't be ashamed about having themselves examined to detect whether they have been infected by HIV/AIDS," said Riswanto, secretary of the Yogyakarta AIDS Prevention Committee.
He said the public must understand that those living with HIV/AIDS should not ostracized because the virus could be contracted through various means. In Bandung, the deliberation of a bylaw on AIDS handling was halted as members of the West Java Legislature busied themselves with preparations for next year's general elections, despite having already conducted "comparative studies" in East Java and Bali.
"We are pessimistic the draft bylaw can be approved, because of the 2009 election," said Ani Rukmini, member of the Council's Commission E for education, healthcare, manpower and social affairs, adding the number of HIV/AIDS cases was now at an "alarming level".
The Association of Indonesian Physicians Concerned about HIV/AIDS estimates that the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the country would more than double to 270,000 this year from 120,000 in 2002.