Volunteers distribute flowers and leaflets in front of the Ngrowo River Pavilion, Wednesday (1/12).
-Tulungagung, Bhirawa
Commemorating World AIDS Day, a number of volunteers from various communities distributed flowers and leaflets on the road in front of the Ngrowo River Pavilion, Tulungagung City, Wednesday (1/12). They invite the public to be more concerned and not to create a negative stigma on people with HIV/AIDS.
The head of the Tulungagung District Health Office, Dr. Kasil Rohmad, participated in the distribution of flowers and leaflets. He even came wearing traditional clothes.
According to him, the actions carried out by volunteers remind us together to care more for people with HIV/AIDS or people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). “Moreover, there is still a stigma on them,” he said.
Doctor Kasil, who also serves as Deputy Chairman of the AIDS Commission (KPA) of Tulungagung Regency, predicts that the number of people with HIV/AIDS is still high. In fact, the findings are always increasing every year. “Like the iceberg phenomenon. Now we have not revealed everything,” he explained.
The Secretary of the Tulungagung Regency KPA, Ifada Nur Rokhmaniah, said the same thing. He revealed that during the Covid-19 pandemic there was an increase of around 700 people living with HIV/AIDS.
“In accumulative terms, starting in 2006 until now, the number of HIV/AIDS sufferers in Tulungagung Regency has reached 3,043 people,” he said.
Even today, he continued, there have also been found PLWHA as well as people with mental disorders (ODGJ). “This is a new case. We found five people and one of them had died,” he said.
The handling of PLWHA who is also ODGJ is enough to make the Tulungagung Regency KPA work extra in providing services to them. The problem is also treating it in two. In addition to treatment for HIV / AIDS, it is also for mental disorders.
Ifada also revealed that by 2030, it has been internationally determined to eliminate HIV/AIDS from the world. Therefore, it takes hard work from all parties so that there are no more cases of HIV/AIDS. “So there are only eight years left of HIV/AIDS, there are no more cases,” he concluded. (wed)
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