Traditional therapists encouraged to understand more about HIV and AIDS

Surabaya, 23 September 2006 – A seminar on Complementary Therapy for HIV and AIDS held by the Joint United Nations Programmes on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) on the sidelines of the 8th ASEAN Congress of Traditional Chinese Medicine on Saturday urges local and international traditional therapists to recognize the potential of traditional medicines and therapies in the treatment of HIV and AIDS.

“UNAIDS encourages research using the highest scientific and ethical standards related to the use of traditional Chinese medicine in treating AIDS patients,” UNAIDS Country Coordinator for Indonesia, Jane Wilson, PhD, said in her address to the seminar.

She said that UNAIDS recognizes the substantial role of traditional health practitioners in outreach and becoming one of the first to be consulted by many people, and adds that in this way traditional health practitioners could also play an important role in HIV treatment and prevention efforts.

Acupuncturist and Director of theTaman Sringanis Foundation, Putu Oka Sukanta, said that traditional therapy has long been known to the public as a way to increase the body’s resilience against diseases and reduce complaints related to AIDS treatment, including alleviating side effects of antiretrovirals.

“Western medical doctors know this as Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM), that basically tries to balance the yin and yang in the body through holistic approaches so that the body will regain its natural functions,” he said, adding that CAM includes acupuncture, acupressure, nutritional supplements, and mechanical techniques such as tuina massage, regulation of breathing and meditation.

A regular enthusiast of complementary alternative therapy, Harry from Pelita Ilmu Foundation in Jakarta said that traditional therapy helps him maintain his health alongside his regular intake of antiretrovirals.

“We all know that antiretroviral drugs are chemical in nature, and I have to take them everyday for the rest of my life. I just don’t want to take in any more chemicals than I need to, which is why I choose traditional therapy with its focus on nature,” he said, adding that he hoped complementary therapy would help reduce side effects from ARVs.

Daniel Marguari, project coordinator at Spiritia Foundation, however warned that people should not make the mistake of leaving antiretroviral therapy in favor of CAM.

“ARVs have proved very effective at treating people with AIDS because it represses the number of virus in the body and enables people living with HIV/AIDS to lead healthy, longer lives and able to resume their usual activities. People with HIV/AIDS and others including family and complementary medicine practitioners must realize that ARV therapy should never be stopped to give way to complementary medication. Traditional therapy is complementary in nature, it is not an alternative to ARV,” he reiterated.

The aim of Saturday’s seminar is to get practitioners of traditional medicines to meet with HIV and AIDS experts and get insight on what role traditional medicine could play in providing therapy for people with HIV and AIDS.

“As far as I know, only in Indonesia are complementary therapy and modern medication combined for HIV and AIDS treatment,” Putu Oka added.

Some 125 people attended the Complementary Therapy for HIV and AIDS seminar on Saturday, and besides UNAIDS Country Coordinator Jane Wilson, PhD, other participants include AIDS activists from the Dr. Sutomo Hospital in Surabaya, Bandung Plus Support, Pelita Ilmu Foundation in Jakarta, Spiritia Foundation in Jakarta, Gaya Nusantara Surabaya, Hot Line Foundation Surabaya, Taman Sringganis Foundation, Lembaga Kasih Indonesia, and the Indonesian Naturopathy Association (IKNI).

For more information, please contact:
Putu Oka Sukanta | Yayasan Taman Sringanis | +62 21 4891938 | +62 812 918 6589 | poskanta@indosat.net.id

Daniel Marguari | Yayasan Spiritia | +62 21 422 5163 | +62 818 780 455 | dmarguari@yahoo.com

Tantri Yuliandini | UNAIDS Jakarta | +62 21 314 1885 | +62 818 826 874 | tyuliandini.unaids@un.or.id

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About UNAIDS:
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, brings together the efforts and resources of ten UN system organizations to the global AIDS response. Cosponsors include UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank. Based in Geneva, the UNAIDS secretariat works on the ground in more than 75 countries world wide.

About Taman Sringanis Foundation:
Taman Sringanis is a local cultural movement on health institutions that believes the pursuit of a balanced, optimum physical, mental, spiritual and healthy life can only be achieved through a self-help approach streamlined with the individual needs. Taman Sringanis provides trainings on Inner Potencies and Nature for Health, herbal medicine production, documentaries, and traditional health services.

About Spiritia Foundation:
Established in 1995 by Suzana Murni and friends, Spiritia is a peer support group by and for people living with HIV (PLWH). Its aim is to create a safe and secure environment for PLWHs to meet and share experiences, and to provide information about living with HIV/AIDS.

About The 8th ASEAN Congress on Traditional Chinese Medicine:
The 8th ASEAN Congress on Traditional Chinese Medicine, held between September 22 and 24, 2006, at the Shangri La Hotel in Surabaya, East Java, brings together some 400 Chinese medicine practitioners from the 10 member states of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). The congress is an opportunity for participants to bring up problems and find solutions for traditional medicine practice in their respective countries, as well as exchange knowledge and experience. The congress in Surabaya was hosted by the Indonesian Naturopathy Association (IKNI).

PLHIV peer support groups wants more involvement in response against HIV and AIDS

Cipayung, West Java, 21 September 2006 – Representatives of 81 peer support groups for people living with HIV (PLHIV) from across Indonesia presented a statement Wednesday highlighting the importance of peer support groups in pushing for greater involvement of PLHIV in the country’s response against HIV and AIDS.

“Peer support groups play an important role in supporting, empowering and pushing for the involvement of people with HIV in the fight against HIV/AIDS including cutting the chain of HIV infection through moral support, information, skill and access to services needed by PLHIVs,” the statement reads.

The statement, called the Cipayung Statement, was the outcome of the 3rd National Peer Support Group Meeting for people with HIV held in Cipayung, West Java, from Sept. 18 through to Sept. 20. It was presented to the Minister of Health Siti Fadilah Supari, during the closing ceremony on Wednesday evening.

It said that peer support groups were ready to fully support the HIV/AIDS response at national and local levels, and that every stakeholder particularly the government, regional administrations, donor agencies, local AIDS commissions, as well as the National Narcotics Agency, must actively involve peer support groups as equal partners.

“AIDS Commissions must involve PLHIVs in all its working groups, in the secretariat, and in its other activities according to the PLHIVs capabilities,” the statement reads.

To date there are 90 peer support groups for people living with HIV located in 50 districts/cities in 26 provinces across the country. They represent more than 3,000 PLHIVs and more than 3,000 people affected by AIDS in Indonesia. The groups include 4 provincial umbrella groups and special communities such as transvestites, gay, methadone consumption, injecting drug users, women, the elderly, partners of people with HIV, nurses, and outreach workers.

The Cipayung Statement also expressed appreciation for the government’s support in providing full subsidy for the first and second line of ARVs.

“The government’s support for ARVs meant that we could maintain our health, continue to become active, and participate in the AIDS response,” it said, adding that access to other supporting services, such as pediatric care, CD4 and viral load testing, as well as treatment for opportunistic infections should also be increased.

“A comprehensive program, especially voluntary counseling and testing, antiretroviral therapy, prevention of mother to child transmission, condoms and methadone maintenance treatment, as well as needle and syringe program should be available in community health centers,” the statement said.

The statement also called for police to provide rehabilitation services for injecting drug users caught red-handed in using drugs.

The Minister of Health, who attended the Meeting’s closing ceremony on Wednesday evening, said that she recognized the importance of involving PLHIVs in the response to AIDS.

“It is scientifically recognized that the most effective method to reduce the prevalence of HIV is to design, implement and evaluate programs together with the active participation of infected and affected people,” she said.

Siti noted that while antiretroviral (ARV) drugs were available in more than 100 hospitals across the country, only about 6,000 people have received antiretroviral therapy from the target of 12,000 people set by the World Health Organization in 2006.

Some of the challenges in providing PLHIVs with proper healthcare were not only the still existing stigma and discrimination against PLHIVs, including by health officers, but also PLHIVs own denial of their status, she said.

“We want peer support groups to help make a positive difference in increasing the role of PLHIVs so that slowly but definitely this discrimination, as well as denial, could be erased, and that in the future more PLHIVs will want to be tested and receive ARV treatment,” Siti said.

In answer to this, PLHIVs participating in the national meeting said that voluntary counseling and testing for HIV should also be conducted through non-governmental organizations to ensure a friendlier and independent approach.

The National Peer Support Group Meeting held every two years by the Spiritia Foundation with the support from the Ford Foundation and the Australia Indonesia Partnership’s Indonesia HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care Project (IHPCP).

For more information:
Daniel Marguari | Yayasan Spiritia project coordinator | +62 21 422 5163 | +62 818 780 455 | dmarguari@yahoo.com

Siradj Okta | Yayasan Spiritia program coordinator | +62 21 422 5163 | +62 817 818 107 | siradjix@yahoo.com

About Spiritia Foundation:
Established in 1995 by Suzana Murni and friends, Spiritia is a peer support group by and for people living with HIV (PLWH). Its aim is to create a safe and secure environment for PLWHs to meet and share experiences, and to provide information about living with HIV/AIDS.

About HIV and AIDS:
AIDS, the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, is a fatal disease caused by HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus. HIV destroys the body’s ability to fight off infection and disease, which can ultimately lead to death. Currently, antiretroviral drugs slow down replication of the virus and can greatly enhance quality of life, but they do not eliminate HIV infection