As the number of HIV/AIDS infections contracted through sexual contact grow higher in the country, the efforts to combat the condition should primarily focus on addressing men’s irresponsible conduct, experts have said.
Nafis Sadik, the UN special envoy for HIV/AIDS for Asia Pacific, said many husbands go to sex workers only to later infect their wives, who are unaware of the condition.
“Most of the women in all countries, including in Indonesia, are getting infections from one partner they have — either their spouses or husbands,” Sadik told a media conference on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) recently.
To protect women and children against HIV/AIDS infections, Sadik suggested more aggressive efforts were needed to deal with the irresponsible conduct of the men.
“As the number of HIV/AIDS infections through sexual contact grows in Indonesia, we need to step up efforts to prevent parent-to-child-transmission with the right approach,” she said.
Data from the Indonesian Health Ministry shows that in 2009, 186,257 people were infected with HIV. Without accelerated preventive measures, the number of HIV-infected people may increase to 541,700 people by 2014.
The National AIDS Commission (KPA)’s secretary-general, Nafsiah Mboi, said young people between the ages of 15 and 29 were the group with the highest risk of HIV/AIDS infection.
Unlike previous trends in which most new HIV infections were contracted through intravenous drug use, most infections today are contracted through sexual contact.
“Currently, most of HIV infections in Indonesia are the result of unprotected sex among people with multiple partners. After having unsafe sex with sex workers, they [the men] infect their own wives,” said Nafsiah.
Health Ministry data estimates that around 5 to 6 million men have the potential to spread HIV due to high-risk behavior such as injecting drugs, practicing homosexuality or having unsafe sex with sex workers.
The ministry notes that around 3.1 million men have sex with sex workers and 230,000 women are now working as commercial sex workers.
“I think the figure is too low because we [the KPA] have mapped out that between 6 to 8 million men have sex with commercial sex workers. Meanwhile, more that 1 million women are now working as prostitutes, mostly to support their families. So, poverty plays a key role in such circumstances,” said Nafsiah.
One problem is that in Indonesia, sexual and reproductive health services, including information on safe sex, are available for married couples only.
Outside of Indonesia, HIV/AIDS has become an increasing epidemic in the Asia Pacific region as many countries, including Cambodia, China, India, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea and Thailand, are experiencing major increases in the number of new infections.
In addition, Sadik said countries should address three key issues — sexual behavior, stigma and discrimination, and attitudes of young people — in tackling the problem.
“That’s why enabling women to have full access to information and services on sexual and reproductive health rights and in making decisions that affect their own lives and futures is a critical issue. Women’s lives are being affected not only by their own decisions, but by the decisions of their partners,” she added.