Agus Maryono, Banyumas (Central Java) – The rapid growth of prostitution has been blamed for the high number of people living with HIV/AIDS in Central Java, with more than 2000 people reportedly carrying the disease as of July this year, an official said Thursday.
Deskrat Djatmiko, a member of the Banyumas AIDS Committee (KPA), said that figure, the seventh highest in the country, only represented those who had reported their illness to health authorities.
"I am sure the number is much higher than that. Many people living with HIV/AIDS are reluctant to report their illness for various reasons, often shame," Djatmiko told The Jakarta Post.
He said within the regency of around 33 million, more than 2,000 people from across the 35 regencies and municipalities were living with the disease.
Nearly 250 people living with the disease died in the same period this year, while another 1400 were diagnosed HIV-positive and 625 AIDS-positive. "The regencies of Semarang and Banyumas recorded the highest number of people living with the disease, with more than 1,000 people affected, he said.
Djatmiko said the rapid growth of prostitution in the regency was most likely responsible for the soaring rate of infection.
"There is no health control in brothel complexes in the regency. Most brothels accommodate at least 200 sex workers, and anybody can visit them," he said.
Besides brothels, he said hundreds of prostitutes operated in karaoke rooms, discotheques and massage parlours across the regency.
The Banyumas KPA, he said, recorded an average of seven new case of HIV/AIDS each month.
He called on the regency's health, tourism and public order agencies to work together to handle the growing problem. "So far, the agencies work alone. There is no coordination."
Many agencies, he said, even worked in ways that contradicted the efforts of other organizations due to the lack of communication.
"Security should be doing their job, and health agencies too. They should not take advantage of these (prostitution) venues," he said. "How long can the administration neglect this problem?"