A recent seminar on HIV/AIDS revealed that Indonesia's chief prison wardens possess insufficient knowledge about the epidemic -- a fact that worries health authorities and activists. "[Prison wardens'] lack of basic understanding of the virus is a big problem," said Eka Vior, a Ministry of Health official.

In central Jakarta's Salemba penitentiary, Ministry of Health data indicate that 17.5 percent of tested prisoners were HIV-positive in 2000, and 22 percent were HIV-positive in 2001. Other test results showed that 24.5 percent of inmates in Jakarta prisons were HIV-positive, as were 10.2 percent of prisoners in Bali. In South Sumatra, 5.04 percent of inmates were positive, while 0.36 percent were positive in Kalimantan.

Major factors behind HIV's spread in Indonesia's 400 penitentiaries are an increase in intravenous drug users (IDUs) sharing dirty syringes, and sex between male inmates. Most IDUs are concentrated in Jakarta, West Java, East Java and Bali, the nation's top tourist destination.

The Ministry of Health reports that 90,000 to 130,000 people in Indonesia are HIV-infected, and 12 million to 19 million Indonesians are vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. To try and curb the rise of HIV/AIDS among inmates, the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights will build 14 penitentiaries for drug prisoners. These inmates will receive counseling. The government also plans to designate certain state-owned hospitals for the treatment of inmates who use drugs.

Most of Indonesia's prisons are over-crowded and have poorly equipped health facilities. The annual health budget per prisoner is just $1. Coping with the epidemic poses logistical and social challenges. "Indonesian inmates don't have access to basic health facilities and most of the country's penitentiaries don't even have doctors," said Hendra Salim of the Ministry of Health.

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