Elly Burhaini Faizal, Jakarta – Condom use remains unpopular in the world's largest Muslim majority country despite the fact that most HIV/AIDS infections in Indonesia are now spreading through heterosexual transmission.
Nafsiah Mboi, the secretary-general of Indonesia's National AIDS Prevention Commission (KPA), said on Wednesday that condoms had fallen out of favor not only for birth control but also tool to prevent sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS due to prevalent myths about condom use.
Awareness among high-risk men and women on the importance of condom use to preventing HIV and saving lives continued to decline despite its effectiveness in prevent the diseases, she said.
"Such poor awareness increases the risks of HIV/AIDS infections through sexual transmission, especially in the workplace and business areas where workers usually come from other regions, are mostly very mobile and have relatively large incomes to compensate for typically high-risk jobs," said Nafsiah at the launching of the 2011 National Condom Week held by the KPA and DKT Indonesia.
More high-risk men refused to use condoms, saying that they were ineffective against infections since they still had pores. Condoms even can decrease pleasure, many say.
Citing a KPA study, Nafsiah said that the sex industry had spread rapidly among sectors perceived to be high-risk sectors including mining, transportation and construction.
"Working in remote places, such as at oil-palm plantations, workers often have no choice other than sex workers, increasing risks of new HIV infections through sexual transmission," she said.
Health Ministry data shows that 3.2 million people used the services of commercial sex workers in 2006, of which 60 percent were married or had long-term partners.
"Most of them engaged in high-risk sexual activities, having sex without condoms or any other protection against sexually transmitted infections," Nafsiah said.
As of September, about 186,000 people in Indonesia were suffering from HIV/AIDS, of which 87.7 percent occurred among adults 20-49 years of age, the Health Ministry said. Of the total cases, 54.8 percent were transmitted through heterosexual encounters, followed by injection drug use at 36.2 percent. As a result, HIV transmissions from mothers to newborns increased to 2.8 percent.
Nafsiah said that increasing condom use among high-risk men could play a key role in controlling sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS.
"Let's turn the responsibilities to men. If there are no new HIV infections among men, then we will have no infections among women and among our children," she said, mentioning that eliminating new HIV infections among men could not be achieved without continuously promoting condom use and healthy sex habits.
Todd Callahan, Country Director of DKT Indonesia, said that this year's National Condom Week, themed "Celebrating Condom Use", was aimed at increasing awareness among Indonesians, especially those in workplaces and business districts, on the importance of condom use.
"We want to see condom use become much more common among our people, as it can protect them against HIV infections and improve their work safety and health," he said. The condom week would also launch a mobile campaign in several universities and hang-outs around Jakarta during Dec. 1-7.
"We will distribute educational materials including samples of free condoms for the public," said Pierre Frederick Newmaster, Senior Brand Manager Sutra and Fiesta at the DKT Indonesia.