8/14/2019 Reflection on AIDS

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Although AIDS had been around for twenty one years, the governments effort to fight it began

at the 90s. But the real serious effort never starts until 2006 after the Sentani commitment

signed between governors and ministers.

At that moment AIDS spreading already advanced to most provinces in Indonesia and affecting

innocent house wives and babies. The core issue why our health policy cant control or at least

slowed the spreading is about strategic environment. Indonesia is one unique country, with

certain characteristic that influenced how we live our life. Every policy maker should consider

those characteristic if they want to reach the goal without too much problems. Many health

policies about AIDS didnt touch those special characteristic that usually called, strategic

environment.

Indonesian ideology never changed since its independence, which is Pancasila. Indonesian

people are proud of their religious identity, captured by article one of Pancasila. But on higherdose, too much proud makes them difficult to see beneath the surface. Activities such as

outreaching sex workers, wide distribution for condoms, and sex education for teenagers were

forbidden and labeled haram. After too long time, department of religious affairs finally join the

fight. Their efforts including making templates for religious preaches that encouraging people to

fight AIDS and working together with department of welfare to train head figures of all religion in

Indonesia. Better be late than never.

For the second article, Pancasila mention about humanity. There are many problems related to

humanity when dealing with AIDS. One of neglected area is press release about people with

AIDS. Most of media, especially local one, releasing news or information related AIDS only

when it bombastic and full of sensations. They reveal a persons HIV status without considering

how that influenced on his/her later life in society. The other is about stigma and discrimination.

Regardless so many activity, program and NGOs dedicated to it, stigma and discrimination still

suffered by people with AIDS. Not only come from common society, our health workers

sometimes had it too. Various ways of socialization and different kind of trainings have been

done to reduce it.

The obstacle is, Pancasila no longer be the soul of Indonesian life. Many teenagers and children

no longer remember or even know about Pancasila. The elder generation also contribute to it,

they seemed to forget about it after the reformation. Moral lesson didnt get much attention in

modern family rather than science or art. Thats why stigma always there.

Dari astaris ideas.blogspot.com ditulis tahun 2008 Page 1

8/14/2019 Reflection on AIDS

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8/14/2019 Reflection on AIDS

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As an archipelago and nation with diversity Indonesia has to have excellent defense. That

means defense against physical threat and the intangible ones. AIDS pandemic is physical

threat. If most of our young generation died on AIDS, we have an empty country! Intangible

threat related to AIDS including our heavy dependency to external funding, antiretroviral drugs

availability and HIV research. Even with only those three aspects, we can collapse as a country

if they were shut downed. That means we should worry for the dependency.

As we step out to the year of 2009, its time for all Indonesian to think deeply on AIDS problems.

Everyone should help our government to see so many little but valid aspect in fighting against

AIDS that were missed before. Cultural and social value inputs are welcome to adjust original

program become more acceptable in different province. Close relationship among head figure of

every religion very important to encourage each of their members, doing real thing such as

using condoms to fight AIDS. In order to establish strong basic knowledge for our youngest

generation high quality sex education must applied since early age. So we can hope that they

will able to make wise choice than the current ones.

Dari astaris ideas.blogspot.com ditulis tahun 2008 Page 3