Indonesia's capital Jakarta and five provinces have been placed under alert for a possible dengue epidemic following a growing number of fatalities and infections, officials said.

Jakarta – The Jakarta administration's decision to change three city hospitals into corporate entities in a bid to boost their professionalism, has received a negative reaction from sev

Jakarta – Despite a health ministry circular instructing pharmaceutical industries to "self-assess" the prices of their products in order to make them more affordable to the public, mos

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The recorded number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the capital doubled from 12,000 in 2003 to 24,000 in 2004, the Greater Jakarta AIDS Care Forum says.

Sari P. Setiogi, Jakarta – The joy of having a second child proved to be short-lived for Hasan Kesuma, 33, a self-employed resident of Bogor, West Java.

Slamet Susanto and Tarko Sudiarno, Yogyakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has called on the nation to avoid drugs, free sex and smoking as part of a healthy lifestyle campaign

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) that causes it, may be contributing to the extinction of some of Pap

Jakarta – Even though the Indonesian province of Papua sits on the sprawling nation's remote, far-eastern frontier, it has been placed squarely on the frontlines of the fight against HI

Sari P.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Around 500 locals and religious leaders staged a rally around the Provincial legislature in Jayapura, the capital of Papua province, protesting the prolon

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Santo looks much older than 21. His emaciated body, attacked by the HIV virus, rotting teeth and patchy skin testify to years of drug abuse.

The Chief of Army has admitted more than 1300 troops who served in East Timor were given an anti-malarial drug with potentially devastating side effects.

Ben Harkness, Jakarta – As of July, 2004 the official number of HIV/AIDS infections in Indonesia recorded by the Indonesian Department of Health was 4,389.

Luke McIlveen – Hundreds of Australian soldiers were used as guinea pigs by the army in tests of an anti-malaria drug which has psychotic side effects while they were serving in East Ti

Dewi Santoso, Jakarta – Despite an extensive campaign against HIV/AIDS in Papua, the number of local people living with the deadly virus continues to increase, making the province one o

Hananto Wiryo, Mataram – The Cabinet of president-elect Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono must ensure that in designing its health programs focuses on servicing and reaching grassroots by truly

Meiwita Budiharsana, Ford Foundation David & Joyce Djaelani Gordon, YaKita – HIV/AIDS is growing at an alarming rate in Indonesia.

The World Health Organization insisted that a strain of bird flu that has killed millions of birds in Indonesia is potentially deadly to humans, contrary to claims by Indonesian officia

Dewi Santoso, Jakarta – While the current trend of maternal mortality rate (MMR) shows a decreasing pattern, it may be difficult for Indonesia to achieve the target of MMR of around 125

Jane Perlez and Evelyn Rusli, Uyat Bay Beach – First the fish began to disappear. Then villagers began developing strange rashes and bumps.

Batam – The spread of HIV/AIDS in Batam has reached an alarming level, an official said on Friday.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Despite a hard line against offenders, Indonesia's war on drugs seems to have stalled, with users estimated at four million and rising, and the country described as

Dewi Santoso, Jakarta – A controversial harm reduction program that was introduced by the government on Friday has split opinion among activists over how effective it will be in contain

Dewi Santoso, Jakarta – Indonesia is not working effectively to prevent HIV/AIDS among students because of a lack of commitment on the part of the government and social agencies to teac

Surabaya – Over 1,900 prostitutes operating in the two red-light districts of Dolly and Jarak have contracted sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), a health official said.

Jakarta – Some 669 people have died in a widespread dengue fever outbreak in Indonesia in the first five months of this year and the disease still remains a dangerous threat, Health Min

Indonesia's tobacco industry is warning that moves to adopt international laws to limit smoking would lead to massive job cuts and billions of dollars in lost tax revenue.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – A baby boom is looming large in Indonesia with its much-touted population control programme losing pace due to budget cuts and decreasing foreign aid, following

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – The number of people suffering from psychiatric ailments has been on the rise over the past few years in the West Java capital of Bandung, with much of the i

As East Timor prepares for the second anniversary of independence next week, the country remains one of the world's poorest.

Rochelle Mutton – The worm-ridden body of a 12-year-old girl, who was suffocated by hundreds of the parasites, has alerted authorities to the spectre of worm infestations in East Timor.

Jayapura – Most of people in Papua living with HIV/AIDS are between 5 years and 29 years of age, or in their productive years, numbering 746 or 51 percent out of a total 1,454 people wi

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Ubud, Bali – The malnutrition rate in the country has reached alarming levels since the economic crisis, sending a signal to the government to pay more attention t

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The number of people living with HIV/AIDS in Papua province now reaches 1,398 and has sparked concern among Papuans and local health officials.

Suherdjoko and Rusman, Semarang/Samarinda – The number of tuberculosis sufferers increased to 36,820, with 12,000 fatalities, in Central Java province this year and that number is expec

Jakarta – Indonesia's bird flu outbreak, which has killed up to 6.2 million chickens across the archipelago, is showing signs of abating, a top agriculture ministry official said on Thu

Eva C.

Jakarta – Indonesia's dengue fever outbreak has killed more than 400 people this year and the number of cases could keep rising, health officials said on Wednesday.

A deadly dengue fever outbreak which has killed almost 400 people has spread across Indonesia, the health ministry said.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – One of Indonesia's worst outbreaks of dengue fever for years has struck more than 19,000 people, killing at least 336 and prompting a flurry of Government promi

Eva C.

Jakarta – Two months and more than 300 deaths after a deadly outbreak of dengue fever across the country, Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri has declared the epidemic a problem.

More than half of Indonesia's provinces have been affected by the dengue fever outbreak which has killed nearly 200 people, Department of Health data showed.

Jakarta – The death toll from a dengue fever outbreak hitting Indonesia's sprawling archipelago has climbed to 161, said health ministry data on Wednesday.

Sari P.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – Confronted with increasing population growth figures, President Megawati Soekarnoputri appealed to religious leaders on Monday to take part in promoting

Dewi Santoso, Jakarta – Repeated warnings from the government to the public to take preventive measures against dengue fever at the beginning and the end of the rainy season, apparently

Indonesia said that tests had shown it was suffering from the same strain of bird flu that has left 12 people dead in Thailand and Vietnam.

John Aglionby – The bird flu ravaging Asia has thrown up many surprises in the last week and many experts are expecting more in the next few days.

Matthew Moore – Despite up to 10 million Indonesian chickens dying from bird flu since August, Indonesia's Health Ministry said yesterday it has had no reports of any-one contracting th