GOVT POLICY ON DRUG ABUSE, HARM REDUCTION

Since the 1970s, Indonesia has been active in the areas of supply
reduction and demand reduction to control the importation,
distribution, sale and use of illicit drugs, including heroin,
marijuana and, since the 1990s, methamphetamines and ecstasy.

In 2001, the National Narcotics Coordinating Agency (BKNN) was
restructured as the National Narcotics Agency (BNN). The vision of
the BNN is to achieve an Indonesia free of drug abuse and trafficking
by 2015, which is in line with the country's commitment to the
regional goal of a drug-free ASEAN by the same year.

For a long time, drug abuse was viewed in Indonesia almost
exclusively as a criminal and security issue, with all efforts
reflecting these concerns; police intervention methods included the
confiscation of smuggled drugs and the jailing of both dealers and users.

According to Octavery "Very" Kamil, head of the Injecting Drug Users
Intervention Unit at Aksi Stop AIDS!, drug abuse began to be
addressed also as a public health issue around 2002, largely due to
the recognition of its connection with the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the
harm reduction (HR) movement.

Very explained that since 2002, the Health Ministry and the National
AIDS Commission (NAC or Komisi Penanggulangan AIDS/KPA) had accepted
harm reduction as part of HIV/AIDS prevention efforts in Indonesia,
and that this had been implemented to some extent through the medical
services units of the ministry and NAC.

HR has thus become the "third pillar" of drug abuse intervention
policy, along with the supply and demand reduction efforts.

However, details on Indonesia's HIV/AIDS policy specifically
mentioning HR were only made official in a late-2006 document
compiled by the office of the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare.

"This document gave big moral support," said Very, "since now the
implementers (of HR programs) feel they are doing the right thing."

Although the National Police and the BNN are represented in the NAC
and thus are bound to support HR for IDUs as an approach in
controlling the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Very noted that representatives of
these bodies were often reported making statements contradictory to HR.

"(Indonesia's) commitment to HR programs is still limited to policy
on paper, while in terms of commitments of resources and funding,
Indonesia is still completely dependent on foreign support," he said.