Cash-strapped Indonesians are cutting out the middleman and selling their organs online, exploiting a loophole in local laws and fueling a dangerous and illegal trade in human body part

"Who's next?" "You, who's the sick one? How much?"

Nurfika Osman – Poor sanitation habits have led to the large-scale contamination of the country's water supplies, which in turn has led to massive financial losses for the nation.

Wasti Atmodjo, Denpasar – Thousands of people gathered at Puputan Margana Square Tuesday to commemorate World AIDS Day, which falls every Dec. 1.

The head of the health department in Solo on Monday said curbing the rate of HIV/AIDS had become more difficult after the closure of the city's main red-light district in 2002 because k

Luh De Suriyani, Bali – A number of patients suffering from HIV/AIDS have called for fair health treatment saying they have no access to the government-tailored national public health i

Jakarta – The latest number of HIV/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) cases in Indonesia has reached 298,000, Indonesian Public Welfare Minister Agung Laksono said here on Monda

David Coady – An international charity focussed on safe water and sanitation says children are dying needlessly in East Timor due to poor toilet facilities.

Jakarta – Thirty percent of Indonesia's children are underweight and have a lower-than-average height for their age, mostly because of early childhood malnutrition, an expert says.

Jakarta – The removal of a Health Law clause on tobacco may have occurred within the House of Representative's internal process, the House speaker said on Friday.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Febriamy Hutapea – Despite calls from some former lawmakers to stop the debate over the controversial deletion of a section identifying tobacco as an addi

Pandaya, Jakarta – Outgoing legislators may well be remembered for their crude sense of humor, but their last legacy, losing a contentious provision on tobacco from the health bill they

Luthfiana Mahmudah, Jember – Every month at the Jember administration-owned RSUD Dr.

A recent survey conducted on two islands in the Thousand Islands regency painted a bleak picture of poverty and neglect.

Dessy Sagita & Ulma Haryanto – About 16 million people are likely to lose their state health insurance, known as Jamkesmas, due to a reported decline in the number of people living

Ulma Haryanto – Although the state health insurance system has been widely criticized for its shortcomings, millions of poor people across the country still depend on it for much-needed

Ismira Lutfia & Putri Prameshwari – About Rp 185 trillion ($19.6 billion) is spent each year treating smoking-related diseases, a consumer advocacy group said on Sunday as it renewe

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The House of Representatives passed the hospital bill into law yesterday, granting the government authority to oversee private hospitals and abolish their licen

Jakarta – Women's rights activists protested against the new health law Wednesday, which they say does not accommodate the rights of unmarried people to reproductive health services suc

The Asian Human Rights Commission on Wednesday said it had received information that the death toll from famine continues to rise in Yahukimo, Papua, even as some government officials d

Hunger Alert Case: AHRC-HAC-006-2009

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Dessy Sagita – The recent "detention" of two women and their babies by a South Jakarta hospital is further proof that many people, particularly low-income earners, don't receive the hea

Camelia Pasandaran – A team from the State Ministry for People's Welfare is slated to visit Yahukimo, Papua, to find out what is happening in the district, where at least 92 people have

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Critics have urged the House of Representatives to delay the endorsement of the health bill, now dragging on for nine years, saying it was an effort to shift th

Dessy Sagita – Indonesia Corruption Watch has demanded the House of Representatives delay passing the controversial health bill, claiming the legislation remains flawed and had failed t

Jakarta – Stigmatization and discrimination are two crucial problems for people living with HIV/AIDS who seek medical treatment and to deal with these social attitude problems requires

Lindsay Murdoch, Dili – Madalena is 16 but weighs just 13 kilograms, her arms and legs thin and twisted. If she could speak, she would say how happy she is to see Sister Florencia.

Australia West Papua Association, Sydney
PO Box 28, Spit Junction
Sydney, Australia 2088

Dessy Sagita – An uneven HIV/AIDS budget that favors preventive measures over treatment programs, and an inability to involve civil society in the policy-making process have contributed

Dessy Sagita – Indonesia may consider itself up-to-date with regard to global fashion trends, but when it comes to awareness of the disorder widely associated with the industry, the cou

Luh De Suriyani, Nusa Dua – A number of youth groups at the International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) made a stand today for the rights of young people living with

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Nusa Dua, Bali – Papua has intensified its campaign promoting the use of female condoms, after reports emerged of an increase in HIV/AIDS infections among residents.

Candra Malik & Febriamy Hutapea, Yogyakarta – Aggrieved nurses from around the country are expected to demonstrate outside the House of Representatives in Jakarta and in other city

Indonesia's health care system is failing to provide even the most basic care to vast swathes of the population, specialists say.

Dessy Sagita – A number of organizations have urged the House of Representatives to revise the draft of a health care bill it has been debating since 2002 to ensure money is set aside f

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 r

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Sumedang – The West Java administration has declared a state of emergency in its fight against HIV/AIDS, with high prevalence among non-risk groups such as homemakers.

Jakarta – Indonesia is planning to ask all people arriving from Australia and other swine flu-affected countries to wear face masks for at least three days, the health minister says.

Arientha Primanita – Dozens of Jakarta residents protested in front of City Hall on Tuesday demanding that the city administration pay more attention to the needs of the poor.

Guido Goulart, Dili – The UN population agency is urging predominantly Catholic East Timor to soften laws that criminalize abortion and to promote contraceptives, saying in a report rel

Jakarta – The number of known HIV/AIDS cases in Indonesia has almost tripled since 2005, AIDS commission head Nafsiah Mboi said Wednesday.

Dili – A new penal code implemented in East Timor this week is adding an exception to allow emergency abortions, despite opposition from the predominantly Catholic country.

Markus Makur, Timika, Papua – An HIV/AIDS commission senior official who claimed Mimika regency, Papua, had the highest HIV/AIDS rate increase in the country and in the world, advised r

New York – The predominantly Catholic nation of East Timor is under pressure from the United Nations for its laws that penalize abortion, even in the case of rape and incest.

Niken Prathivi, Denpasar – Various NGOs gathered Saturday to discuss the fallout from funding water access with international loans, as the 42nd annual board of governors' meeting of th

Dessy Sagita & Ismira Lutfia – Doctors on Friday urged the public and the government not to panic over the swine flu issue, and not to ignore more urgent health issues such as dengu

Suherdjoko, Surakarta – Up to 80 million Indonesian people are believed to lack private toilets, which means they tend to defecate anywhere, an official said Tuesday.

Jambi – An outbreak of leprosy has reached an endemic stage in Tanjungjabung regency, with one person in six per 10,000 suffering from the disease, which causes legions to form on the s

Balongsari, Indonesia - Ponari was just like any other kid in Indonesia until he was struck by lightning.

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – The Supreme Court has ordered judges not to send drug addicts to prison any more, instead they should be put in rehabilitation centers.