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Just a week after the National Commission for Child Protection fought for and secured free treatment for two impoverished HIV-positive boys, one of them passed away on Saturday.

Five-year-old Adam Malik, who acquired the disease from his parents, succumbed to acute diarrhea after receiving treatment at Koja Regional Hospital in North Jakarta for eight days, according to Dien Emawati, the city’s health agency head.

People living with HIV/AIDS commonly acquire opportunistic infections due to the disease causing declining immunity.

Dien said Koja Hospital had been caring for Adam in its intensive care unit for children, but his diarrhea had worsened on Friday and he died on Saturday morning.

Adam’s story was picked up by the media after the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas Anak) publicized his difficulties in accessing health care. Arist Merdeka Sirait, secretary general of Komnas Anak, which helped organize Jamkesmas (community health care) cards for the two boys, said at the time that they hoped the story would raise awareness of the plight of many children.

Arist said that the lack of access to information and education remained the biggest obstacle to marginalized people getting free HIV/AIDS treatment.

Rohana Manggala, head of the Commission on HIV/AIDS Prevention Jakarta (KPA), said Adam’s father had died in 2006, and his mother in December 2009, both of the virus. She said his uncle had cared for him after that.

“Adam was being taken care of, along with his mother, in Tarakan Hospital, before she died. But then his uncle took him home due to financial issues,” she said.

Isnawa Aji, deputy head of Tambora subdistrict, said Adam’s body had been taken to his uncle’s house at Jembatan Lima, West Jakarta, according to BeritaJakarta.com, the official news portal of the city administration. He was buried in Balaraja, Tangerang, near his mother’s grave.

Isnawa said the treatment and funeral costs were paid for by the city administration.

Rohana said that based on 2009 data there were 2,811 people living with HIV/AIDS in Jakarta. Of these, 101 were children 6 to 7 years old. A total of 500 people succumbed to the disease in the province in the same year.

Arist said 20 percent of people known to be living with HIV/AIDS in the country are below 18 years of age, and most are from poor families.

Jakarta is the nation’s third ranked province in terms of HIV/AIDS infections.

Dien said that 60 percent of people living with HIV/AIDS had acquired the disease through intravenous drug use. The remainder were caused by unsafe sexual activities, blood transfusions and mother-to-child transmission, she said.