White House strategy for fighting AIDS domestically will focus on preventing the spread of the virus

A new White House strategy for fighting AIDS domestically will focus on preventing the spread of the virus, perhaps with the broader use of drugs and testing but also with a campaign to reduce stigma.Obama administration officials will release the strategy on Tuesday and said it would focus on prevention, care and reducing disparities.”The plan will serve as a roadmap for policymakers, partners in prevention, and the public on steps the United States must take to lower HIV incidence, get people living with HIV into care, and reduce HIV-related health disparities,” the White House said in a statement on Monday.AIDS advocates predicted the program would not have funding to buy drugs or tests. Obama’s initiative to fight childhood obesity, released in May, included 70 recommendations but no funding.More than 1.1 million people in the United States are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with 56,000 new infections over the past decade.

While only about 5 percent of patients infect someone else, this is enough to keep levels of the virus stable in the United States, the CDC says. The fatal and incurable virus is spread during sex, in blood and breast milk and by contaminated needles.The U.S. government has a program to fight AIDS globally — PEPFAR or President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief — but there has not been a similar coherent domestic strategy.

While the administration of former president George W. Bush was praised for coming up with PEPFAR, it was widely criticized for promoting abstinence-only education in place of more comprehensive programs stressing condom use. AIDS groups said they hoped the Obama plan would do more to promote such education.

“The National HIV/AIDS Strategy is a comprehensive plan focused on: 1) reducing the number of people who become infected with HIV, 2) increasing access to care and optimizing health outcomes for people living with HIV, and 3) reducing HIV-related health disparities,” the White House said.Experts have disagreed on how best to do this but recent studies have supported theories that treating HIV patients with drugs can not only keep them healthier, but help reduce the likelihood that they will infect someone else.

Some AIDS activist groups began criticizing the policy even before it was released, saying it did not come close to doing what they had hoped.”This strategy is a day late and a dollar short: 15 months in the making and the White House learned what people in the field have known for years,” said Michael Weinstein, president of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “There is no funding, no ‘how to,’ no real leadership.”

The CDC estimates that 79 percent of Americans with HIV know it and experts say people who know they are infected can take steps to avoid infecting others. The CDC recommends testing everyone for HIV, with an option to refuse the test, instead of forcing people to ask to be tested.The new U.S. strategy likely will include recommendations to broaden testing.

The AIDS virus infects 33 million people globally and has killed 25 million since the pandemic began in the 1980s.In Africa, most new AIDS patients are women infected by men during sex. In the United States HIV disproportionately affects men who have sex with men, blacks and Hispanics. (Reuters)

Hundreds of people from NGOs and HIV/AIDS care groups in Yogyakarta (java,indonesia )

Hundreds of people from NGOs and HIV/AIDS care groups in Yogyakarta, Tuesday, demonstrated against discrimination toward HIV/AIDS positive people. They judge the society is still biased for this matter.According to the demonstrators HIV/AIDS is just like any other disease and those who suffer from it shouldn’t be isolated. This disease can infect anyone, including good house-wives and their children. Discrimination doesn’t solve the problem, instead it would oppress the HIV/AIDS positive people.

“Why is there discrimination? Because people are ingrained with a stereotype that the disease is caused by pervert behaviors done by ‘bad’ people,” said Istikomah from the Yogyakarta Institution for Female Rights, one of the NGOs involved in the act.

In Surabaya, the Deputy Governor of East Java, Saifulla Yusuf said that most people with AIDS in East Java were infected by shared needles used by drug abusers. Many of the victims are in the productive age group.During his visit to AIDS patients at the Dr. Soetomo Public Hospital in Surabaya, Saifulla Yusuf states that fighting drug abuse is the priority. “The provincial government provides Rp. 10 billion to prevent transmission by needles.”

The East Java provincial government has recorded that 42 percent of HIV/AIDS infected people are in the productive age group, which is from 20 to 29 years old. This impairs their productivity.Aside from that, some people still shun HIV/AIDS positive people. The result is that someone with AIDS is unlikely to work. “They are capable, but hindered by their stigma,” said the deputy governor.

The East Java provincial government also encourages hospitals in the city and regency to care for HIV/AIDS patients. This is to bring together the patients and medical centers. “Currently the life span of a victim can be prolonged with proper medications. AIDS isn’t the direct cause of death, instead it’s another disease that comes because the victim’s immunity has weakened.”

Open Social Access

Approximately 100 HIV/AIDS care activists in Malang, East Java, demand that HIV/AIDS positive people be redeemed of their negative stigma and be given equal social access.”Many people with HIV/AIDS have died because they didn’t have social access or were isolated and discriminated in everything. Though their physical conditions were maintained by medications, but if their mental conditions were oppressed by all the isolation and discrimination, then the medications are futile,” said the head of Malang Transvestite Association, Merlyn Shopjan, during the AIDS Day commemoration in front of the Malang City Hall.

The AIDS Day commemoration is also done in other cities such as Solo, Tegal, Banyumas, Bandung, and Jakarta.

World AIDS Day, December 1.

As HIV/AIDS cases continue to increase in Indonesia, the government on Monday renewed efforts to fight the infectious disease as part of the activities carried out to observe World AIDS Day, December 1.  The  Health Ministry, the National AIDS Commission (KPA), the Family Planning Coordinating Agency (BKKBN) and a number of condom producing companies signed an agreement to fight HIV/AIDS.Official records mentioned that there are now 298,000 HIV/AIDS sufferers in Indonesia, but the real figures may be much higher than  official figures, which is often described as the tip of the iceberg. Even though the number of new cases in the country continues to increase, the government is optimistic it could be offset with a serious effort and close cooperation with various agencies and the people as a whole.

Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare Agung Laksono said he was optimistic the government would be able to minimize HIV/AIDS infection by 1.2 million people in 2015.  “Before 2015, with the government efforts we hope we can minimize the HIV/AIDS infection by up to 1.2 million people, he said when launching a National Condom Week (PKN) here on Monday.He said that among the efforts carried out by the government to prevent the spread of the contagious disease was to engage in sustainable partnership cooperation through a national movement for creating  healthy people, away from the  HIV/AIDS threat.The efforts also included promotional and preventive measures through the PKN activities where people were informed about how to use condoms as a means of minimizing the spread of HIV. The government also launched curative approaches through conducting medicinal treatment and research on advanced HIV/AIDS cases in Indonesia.

Agung Laksono called for regional governments’ commitment to supporting the steps taken by the central government to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country. Secretary of the National AIDS Commission (KPA) Secretary Nafsiah Mboi said KPA in cooperation with its branches in provinces and districts supported the government’s efforts to prevent the spread of the disease which has shown signs of increasing.”We support the government efforts to fight AIDS in an effort to achieve the sixth aim of the Millennium Development Goals, namely increasing the people’s health standard through reduction of HIV/AIDS infection cases,” she said.  The government admitted that cases of new contraction continued  to increase.  “About 298,000 people in Indonesia are now suffering from HIV/AIDS,” Agung Laksono said,     Agung, who is also chairman of the National AIDS Commission (KPA), made the remarks when he opened the National Condom Week at the University of Indonesia.

Based on data at the Ministry of Health, up to September 2009, a total of 18,422 AIDS carriers were recorded in Indonesia. At present almost all provinces in Indonesia have  AIDS cases. AIDS cases are to be found in more than half of the number of districts in the country. About 49.57 percent of AIDS cases involved people in the 20-29 years age group, 29.84 percent in the 30-39 years age group and 8.71 percent occurred in the 40-49 years age group. The average HIV/AIDS incidence in Indonesia is  8.15 carriers in every 100,000 people.

The highest number of cases occurred in five provinces, namely Papua 17.9 percent of the national figure, Bali 5.3 percent, Jakarta 3.8 percent, Riau Islands 3.4 percent and West Kalimantan 2.2 percent of the overall number in the country.This fact means there is a serious threat to the existence of the present younger generation in the country. Therefore, the government and the non-governmental organizations, higher educational institutions and the people as a whole should cooperate actively in launching a national movement for making people healthy and knowledgeable for preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS.

According to 2008 estimates by UNAIDS, the HIV epidemic in Indonesia is among the fastest growing in Asia. The epidemic is concentrated primarily among injection drug users (IDUs) and their sexual partners, people engaged in commercial sex and their clients, and men who have sex with men.The signing of the agreement is among the efforts being made to fight the spread of the disease. After all,  it was done during the launching of a National Condom Week (PKN) organized in connection with World AIDS Day on December 1. On the occasion, Agung Laksono said that the Ministry of Health put an estimate that figure of HIV/AIDS cases in Indonesia up to this year had reached 289,000 carriers.

“This estimate will continue to increase because it is predicted that about 5 people are infected with the virus every one minute,” he said. He said that in order to overcome the problem the government had launched preventive and curative approaches. “Socialization and campaign are carried out through the PKN with the high-risk groups such as those who often make sexual contact as the main targets,” he said.In the meantime,  the Indonesian HIV Carriers Network (JHOTI) said HIV/AIDS carriers in Indonesia are still facing discrimination.  “The problems they face is individual discrimination as well as discriminatory policies,” Chairman of JHOTI for East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Maxi Mitan said. He said that the voices of the infected people had not yet been maximally heard in formulating efforts to control the disease so that HIV/AIDS cases continued to expand in the country.  Even, carriers still faced problems with obtaining access to health services, a fact that their rights were still ignored.

The voices of the infected persons could only be heard if they were united. Only with a united voice could sufferers strengthen their bargaining position against policy makers, Mitan said.This idea has given birth to the JHOTI body. “The establishment of this body was declared in the first congress of HIV/AIDS carriers in Jakarta on July 8, 2008,” Mitan said.

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