Thursday, 03/12/2020 20:00 WIB
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Jakarta, law-justice.co – World AIDS Day (HAS) is not a moment to celebrate. HAS is more appropriate to serve as a warning to everyone that HIV / AIDS has claimed many lives. HIV / AIDS has also become an epidemic which is still threatening the world. There is no good reason to make HAS a celebration momentum.
This was revealed in the press conference “The Death of Collaboration in the Middle of a Celebration” held by the Indonesia AIDS Coalition (IAC), online, Wednesday (2/12). The activity carried out to commemorate HAS 2020, at the same time reminded various parties not to misinterpret the meaning of World AIDS Day.
Aditya Wardhana, Executive Director of IAC, said that currently Indonesia has not succeeded in controlling HIV-AIDS properly.
“What do you want to celebrate? The availability of ARV drugs alone is still problematic. Not to mention the situation of the Covid-19 outbreak which had a tremendous impact, including for hundreds of thousands of people with HIV in Indonesia, “he said.
Aditya also expressed the HAS warning which looked more like an activity of fun or celebration, rather than a reflection on the many HIV / AIDS issues that still need to be resolved. Furthermore, he also stated that in a critical situation like this time, the Indonesian Ministry of Health even held a peak commemoration of HAS this year in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara.
“They are insensitive. We all know Labuan Bajo is an exotic tourist spot. But what is the relevance of AIDS Day? The rate of HIV transmission there is not as high as in Papua, for example. I can understand if the activity is carried out in Papua or in other places where the number of HIV cases is indeed high, so it is relevant, “he emphasized.
A similar sentiment was expressed by Aditia Taslim, Executive Director of Rumah Cemara. According to him, HAS is a good momentum to revisit the existing situation.
“There are still thousands of AIDS-related deaths. There are hundreds of thousands of people with HIV who have not received treatment. This kind of thing should be a reflection on AIDS Day, “he said.
He added that a number of activities carried out by the Ministry of Health at the peak of the HAS warning did not reflect this reflection.
“For example, an activity to create a MURI record for the largest number of HIV tests in 34 provinces in Indonesia,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Natasya Sitorus, Advocacy Manager for Lentera Anak Pelangi, assessed that celebratory activities hurt the feelings of people with HIV. He said, “if children with HIV could speak up, of course they would also speak the same way.”
The Press Conference was also attended by other speakers including Meirinda Sebayang, Chair of the Secretariat of the Positive Indonesia Network (JIP), and Baby Rivona, Chair of the Indonesian Positive Women’s Association (IPPI).
Furthermore, the speakers also highlighted the use of the HAS 2020 theme from the government, namely Strengthen Collaboration, Increase Solidarity.
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