Prof Dr Zubairi Djoerban, the head of the 9th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) committees, said that circumcision is one of the methods to avoid AIDS.
“The research done in various countries such as Thailand, Philippine, and United States showed that circumcision is an effective way to avoid the spread of HIV?AIDS,” he added. The World Health Organization (WHO) had also suggested circumcision to prevent HIV/AIDS.
Currently, the countries in Asia Pacific are trying to socialize the method of corcumcision throughout the region. However, the different religion all over Asia Pacific made it difficult to fully apply the method even id it is already proven scientifically.
“What about the difference in culture and region? This is the problem we face in socializing circumcision in the region. However, in several countries such as Philippine, circumcision is not connected with any act of region but it mostly for medical purposes,” Zubairi said.
Generally, the countries that take part in ICAAP agreed to apply circumcision as one of the method to prevent HIV/AIDS. The implementation in each country is handed to each government.
Another important problem that needs to be discussed is the universal access for people living with HIV/AIDS. Previously, the use of condoms is recommended as one of the methods to prevent HIV/AIDS. However, the research by National AIDS handling Committee (KPAN) showed that most of the people are reluctant to use condoms.
Zubairi said “the condition is proven by the number of prostitutes in Indonesia who are willing to wear condoms only 30%. This is also because the limited number of condoms seller or supplier in the prone area.”
Dr Fonny J Silfanus, the Deputy Secretary of KPAN, said that KPAN will distribute fre condoms in twelve provinces in Indonesia. Those provinces are northern and southern Sumatra, Riau, papua, and Bali. The program will start on September 2009 and it will cost 1.3 billion rupiah.

News by International Bali Post

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