Almost half the residents of Indonesia's remote Papua Pro-vince have never heard of HIV, despite the virus' prevalence there being 15 times the national average, new internationally funded research shows.
The lack of knowledge about HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases is a major contributor to the burgeoning epidemic in the region, according to a copy of the report.
The 90-page document, Risk Behavior and HIV Prevalence in Papua 2006, urges more spending on sexual education and condom availability.
Indonesia is the world's fourth most populous country and has one of Asia's fastest growing HIV rates, with up to 290,000 infections out of 235 million people, fueled mainly by injecting drug users and prostitution.
The nation's HIV prevalence rate of 0.1 percent remains small compared with an Asian average of 0.4 percent and 6.1 percent in sub-Saharan Africa.
But health authorities warn that a failure to take prompt action in areas like Papua -- the most isolated and poorest part of the nation -- could push Indonesia's number of infections to 1 million by 2010.
The disease has already infected 2.4 percent of Papua's population, according to the research, which is due to be published today.
Researchers found 48 percent of the people in Papua were unaware of HIV/AIDS, with that figure as high as 74 percent among the uneducated.
"An intensive and specific strategy needs to be developed and established to prevent further spread of the disease [to avert] a generalized epidemic as already happened in sub-Sahara Africa," the researchers wrote, recommending awareness programs for sex workers and young adults.
HIV prevalence reached 5.6 percent among non-circumcised men in Papua, compared to 1 percent among circumcised men, reinforcing previous international studies that found circumcision reduces the risk of catching the virus.
The population survey was based on interviews and blood samples from 6,300 respondents, aged 15 to 49, last September and October. It was funded by the World Bank, the US government and US nonprofit Family Health International.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
The China Coast Guard has seized control of a disputed reef near a major Philippine military outpost in the South China Sea, Beijing’s state media said, adding to longstanding territorial tensions with Manila. Beijing claims sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea and has waved away competing assertions from other countries as well as an international ruling that its position has no legal basis. China and the Philippines have engaged in months of confrontations in the contested waters, and Manila is taking part in sweeping joint military drills with the US which Beijing has slammed as destabilizing. The Chinese coast guard
US PUBLICATION: The results indicated a change in attitude after a 2023 survey showed 55 percent supported full-scale war to achieve unification, the report said More than half of Chinese were against the use of force to unify with Taiwan under any circumstances, a survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University found. The survey results, which were released on Wednesday in a report titled “Sovereignty, Security, & US-China Relations: Chinese Public Opinion,” showed that 55.1 percent of respondents agreed or somewhat agreed that “the Taiwan problem should not be resolved using force under any circumstances,” while 24.5 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” disagreed with the statement. The results indicated a change in attitude after a survey published in “Assessing Public Support for (Non)Peaceful Unification
RSS