30 May Men’s sexual behavior blamed for rise in HIV/AIDS prevalence
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.