Jambi administration allocates Rp 1.2 b to combat HIV/AIDS

Jon Afrizal, The Jakarta Post, Jambi | Archipelago | Tue, February 19 2013, 9:53 PM

Jambi deputy governor Fachrori Umar said on Tuesday that the Jambi administration was committed to allocating higher resources to combat HIV/AIDS as the number of people in the province who suffered from the illness continued to increase. Currently, the budget allocated to tackle the condition was relatively small, he said.

Fachrori said strengthening the budgetary allocations for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs was among the breakthrough steps his administration was taking to curb the spread of the illness across the province.

“We are allocating Rp 1.2 billion (US$124,000) this year to combat HIV/AIDS, up from Rp 500 million in the previous year,” said Fachrori.

Cumulatively, the number of HIV/AIDS cases in Jambi has reached 786 cases since 1999, comprising 360 AIDS cases and 426 HIV infections with 148 deaths. The cases were distributed in 10 regencies and municipalities in the province. Of the total, 597 cases, or 76 percent, were located in Jambi City while Sungaipenuh City is the only municipality with no HIV/AIDS cases.

In 2012, 185 new cases of HIV/AIDS were diagnosed in the province, comprising 57 AIDS cases and 128 HIV infections with 27 deaths. Last year’s figure showed a significant increase from the 95 cases in 2009.

Fachrori said that many new HIV/AIDS cases were found among young people aged between 20 to 35 years. He said 55.5 percent of the HIV infections were spread among injecting drug users, with 35.5 percent among heterosexuals.

“Currently, we see a lot more housewives who are infected with HIV by their spouses and children who have contracted the disease through mother-to-child transmission,” he said.

The administration plans to issue a HIV-AIDS Prevention and Treatment Plan of Action.

Fachrori said preventive measures through promotion, education and empowerment for the entire community, not simply high-risk members of society, would be the key in efforts to prevent HIV transmission.

“We will expand the Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) services for HIV prevention, medical treatment and Care-Support-Treatment (CST) services in healthcare facilities such as hospitals and community health centers,” he said.

“We plan to expand medical treatment for people with HIV/AIDS as well, particularly for low-income families using the local-government funded health coverage, Jamkesda,” he said, adding that people would have expanded access to VCT and CST in the Taher Hospital in Jambi. (ebf)