CLEAN NEEDLES SEEN AS VITAL TO CURB HIV/AIDS

JAKARTA (JP): The national drive against the human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) took a controversial
step forward with activists pushing for easy access to clean needles for
intravenous drug users (IDUs).

Citing the increasing number of drug users contracting HIV/AIDS, Yustina
Rostiawati from the Atma Jaya University in Jakarta maintained that
providing cheap needles could help to control the spread of the disease.

"Experience around the world has shown that once more than 10 percent of
IDUs in any community are infected with HIV, in the absence of any extreme
intervention the rate usually exceeds 50 percent within a year," Yustina
said during a seminar on Tuesday.

A survey conducted by the university in eight major cities in the country --
Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Medan and Makassar -- from April to
August this year revealed that most of the users were already aware of the
dangers of exchanging needles and the risks of contracting AIDS.

The survey was jointly sponsored by the now defunct Coordinating Minister
for Welfare and Poverty Eradication Office, as well as USAID, Ausaid, WHO,
UNAIDS and the Ford Foundation.

Another study showed that up to 30 percent of IDUs in Jakarta have been
infected with HIV, with most of the cases resulting from the sharing of
needles.

Djoko Prayitno of the Commission for AIDS Handling (KPA), who also spoke at
the seminar, reiterated the dangers of sharing needles and also mentioned
the added risk of IDUs who have contracted the virus spreading it further
through sexual intercourse.

"It's too late to prevent these people (addicts) from using drugs, so we
have to take concrete steps," Djoko, a retired police general who studied
narcotics at MacFarlene Burnel Medical Research center in Melbourne, said.

The country is a home to around two million drug users but only around 800
of them are receiving proper treatment at facilities such as the Drug
Dependency Hospital (RSKO), he added.

Yustina said another way to curb the growth of HIV among drug addicts was to
encourage IDUs to stop injecting, usually by providing alternatives such as
methadone, a cheap liquid drug which is taken orally.

"For those who are not ready to change to methadone, providing easy and
cheap access to clean needles is the most effective solution," Yustina said.

Both Djoko and Yustina admitted that liberating the access to needles can be
controversial.

"The government can choose either to save a generation from incurable
diseases such as HIV and AIDS by reducing the harmful effects of drug use or
simply let it spread through addicts, whose hidden population is believed to
be far more than two million," Yustina warned.

Djoko said it was almost impossible to eradicate drugs and HIV and AIDS
simply by expounding morals or through a security approach.

"We cannot pass the responsibility to teachers or preachers. Not only do
they know little about drugs, they spare very limited time for children.
While the law enforcers are only busy catching the users or dealers and
treating them as criminals," he said.

He said greater coordination among parties involved in the anti-HIV campaign
and its action plan is an issue soon to be taken up by Vice President
Megawati Soekarnoputri.

The Ministry of Health found 214 new cases of HIV and AIDS at the end of
May, bringing the total number of those carrying the virus in the country to
1,257. UNAIDS, however, predicts the figure may soon reach 52,000.