Indonesia records more than 200,000 HIV/AIDS patients so far

A senior official at Indonesian health ministry said on Friday that the country has more than 200, 000 Human Immunodefficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) patients so far. "With a population of 240 million people, Indonesia now records HIV prevalence rate at 0.24 percent and AIDS patients estimated at more than 200,000," M. Subuh, contagious disease control director at the ministry said here. According to Subuh, Indonesia saw a decreasing number of HIV and AIDS patients this year that stood at 15,509 and 1,805 respectively. "In 2010, the number of HIV and AIDS patients reached 21,591 and 4,917," Subuh said. He said that Indonesia was able to reduce fatality rate from HIV/AIDS to below 2 percent as of September this year, adding that it showed Indonesia's success in carrying out healing and protection programs for the patients. And now with prevalence rate at 0.24 percent Subuh said that Indonesia has accomplished with the Millennium Development Goal ( MDG) target that requires maximum HIV/AIDS prevalence rate at below 0.5 percent. To address the MDG targets on HIV/AIDS, Indonesia government would help raise public awareness about the unhealed disease to 95 percent by 2014 from 75 percent at present, Subuh said.