Anti-AIDS drive glosses over changing sexual mores. Indonesia, Education
AIDS weekly plus 1998: 13-14
1998
PMID: 12294110 Document Number: 276818
A provincial health official in Indonesia was fired for his disclosure of findings from two studies which indicate that Indonesian youth are increasingly having sexual relations with partners. Some students regularly visit prostitutes and are unconcerned about protecting themselves against AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases. The official's firing reflects the reluctance of Indonesian authorities to acknowledge the truth about the changing sexual norms of young Indonesians. That attitude, however, may constrain efforts to disseminate information on AIDS and HIV. Even though only an estimated 0.088% of Indonesia's population aged 15-49 years in 1996 was infected with HIV, medical experts and others who work to thwart the spread of HIV recommend that the country invest in education and behavior change campaigns before the prevalence of HIV grows. In Indonesia, sexual intercourse is the main mode of HIV transmission, with 62.6% of cases transmitted through heterosexual sex.