SAIRERINEWS.COM – Responding to the high increase in HIV/AIDS cases in Yapen Islands District, the Health Service is trying to prevent and suppress the spread of this disease.
In 2016 there were dozens of cases, in 2017 there were hundreds of additional cases and a significant increase as of 31 December 2022 the increase in the number reached 1,648 cases, previously on 30 September 2022 there were 1,611 cases.
This was conveyed by the Head of the Disease Prevention and Control (P2P) Division of the Yapen Islands Health Service, Doctor Franklin Mekari Numberi during a Cross-Sector Meeting on the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Program which took place at the Regional Secretariat Meeting Room, Wednesday (18/1/2023).
The meeting was opened by the Regent Cyfrianus Mambay who was represented by the assistants of three regional secretaries, Engineer Wahyudi Irianto.
In his briefing, Assistant to the three district heads Wahyudi Irianto expressed his concern over the growing information that based on the Epidemiological Surveillance report from the Health Service which stated that there had been an increase in HIV/AIDS cases in Yapen Islands District.
“Problems of HIV/AIDS prevention include stigma and discrimination or expulsion in HIV/AIDS cases, low knowledge about HIV-AIDS and STIs, including among our health workers, and high-risk practices of contracting HIV/AIDS.” Assistant three said.
Wahyudi further said that the handling of this case could not be handled by just one sector, namely the health sector, it needed an active role from across sectors and full support from the local government.
Previously, the Head of the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Sector P2P Field of the Yapen Islands Health Service, Doctor Fraklin Numberi said that comprehensive and integrated HIV AIDS and STI prevention and control programs need comprehensive and integrated policy support to achieve the goal of “3 Zeros”, namely zero new infection (decreasing the number of new HIV cases, as low as possible), zero AIDS related death (decreasing the AIDS death rate), zero stigma and discrimination (reducing the level of discrimination as low as possible), and improving the quality of life of PLHIV.”
The agreement from the Cross-Sectoral Coordinating Meeting for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control on January 18 2022 was to discuss various strategies which would involve all agencies, community organizations and all elements of society to participate in HIV/AIDS prevention efforts, especially in the Yapen Islands District.
The meeting was attended by Assistant Regional Secretaries, Representatives of Regional Leadership Forums, Heads of other departments and representatives from other sectors.
Robby Mesak
