Ministry of Health: 12,533 Children Under 14 Years Old Infected with HIV Throughout 2010-2022

ILLUSTRATION OF DOC VOI

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Health stated that as many as 12,533 children under the age of 14 were found to be positively infected with HIV in the period 2010 to September 2022.

"HIV in children whose HIV status is known in Indonesia is 12,553 children aged 14 and under. This is data from 2010 to September 2022", said the Director of Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases at the Ministry of Health, Imran Pambudi, as reported by ANTARA, Tuesday, November 29.

Imran said 4,764 children aged 14 and under who were infected with HIV, of whom were currently undergoing antiretroviral therapy (ART), based on data up to September 2022.

When viewed based on the number, dominantly HIV cases were found to be more in children under 4 years of age.

"Of the 12,553 cases, only around 7,800 have started treatment. So the gap is quite high", said Imran.

Imran said that boys dominate more than girls.

In the 2010-2020 period, HIV/AIDS prevention in Indonesia has made progress, due to a decrease in new cases of infection, as a result of accelerated control that focuses on prevention and the large-scale expansion of ART.

However, the HIV situation must always be watched out for, because the reduction in new infections has not yet reached the target expected by the government. Moreover, the presence of COVID-19 has hampered government programs to achieve the elimination of HIV/AIDS by 2030.

Apart from COVID-19 and the high number of HIV sufferers among children, another challenge that must be faced by the government is based on observations in 2018-2022, most HIV cases are in the age group of 25-49 years or are of productive age and are actively having sexual intercourse.

Imran emphasized that education and increased knowledge possessed by parents are the main keys to preventing children from contracting HIV. Because usually, HIV infects children through their parents.

Therefore, the Ministry of Health requests that all parents start increasing education regarding reproductive health and stay away from behaviors that have a negative impact on the nation's children.

In addition, there is a need to strengthen coordination with stakeholders and related parties, especially midwives and colleagues at Maternal and Child Health (MCH) so that people can understand the dangers of HIV/AIDS in children.

“Every year there are still children with HIV. This shows that HIV prevention and control efforts still need strengthening", he said.