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Bali HIV Group Urges Caution After Jump in Infected Homosexual Men
Made Arya Kencana | September 25, 2010

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Bali. A Bali health group is urging greater HIV/AIDS awareness for homosexual males after witnessing a rise in infections among patients tested at its clinic.

Christian Supriyadinata, director of the Gaya Dewata foundation, said that of the 170 homosexual males that had undergone counseling and testing at the foundation in the first half of 2010, some 18 percent of them were HIV positive, a big increase over past years.

“Of the hundreds of homosexual males who underwent counseling and examination at our foundation in 2008, 6 percent tested positive,” Christian said on Friday.

He said the foundation, which promotes sexually-transmitted infection education and treatment, and advocates safe sex in the homosexual community, had only managed to reach about 2,000 homosexuals. That’s a small group, considering the foundation believes the resort island is home to at least 25,000 homosexual men.

“I am certain that many of them are unreachable and have no access to proper, life-saving information about sexually transmitted diseases,” he said.

But Christian added that as the number of homosexuals arriving and residing in Bali rises, it appears HIV awareness continues to grow.

He also pointed out that more and more gay men who were initially afraid to get tested for HIV were now getting checked.

“We are motivating them to get themselves tested for HIV and to avoid unsafe sex. We suggest that they undergo a regular monthly test, whether or not they believe they are infected,” Christian said.

Mangku Karmaya, spokesman of the Bali AIDS Commission, said HIV transmission in Bali had started to grow among non-high-risk populations.

The commission found, for instance, that infections among mothers had increased.

Karmaya said the conclusion was made in reference to a recent testing campaign conducted by 60 midwives in the first half of this year.

He said that out of hundreds of mothers who were tested in the campaign, some 1.2 percent of them were found to be HIV positive.

“It has never happened before, we have reported the finding to the regional government and asked them to pay special attention to the case,” he said.