JOINT PRESS RELEASE
UNAIDS – DfID – AusAID – World Bank

Joint AIDS delegation urges Indonesia to accelerate action on AIDS

1 December 2005, Jakarta - Representative of the Joint United Nations
Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the UK Department for International
Development (DfID), the Australian Government development department
(AusAID) and the World Bank met with HE Yusuf Kalla, the Vice President of
Indonesia today to discuss the current AIDS in Indonesia. The meeting took place
ahead of World AIDS day commemoration event at the Vice President’s Palace in
Jakarta.

The joint AIDS delegation commended the Vice President for his strong
leadership in the national AIDS response and noted progresses in several areas
including increase in resources available for AIDS and improved access to HIV
treatment for an estimated 4,000 people living with HIV up from 600 people in
2003.

However, the joint delegation urged that more needs to be done in Indonesia.

The delegation underlined the urgent need to accelerate the comprehensive AIDS
response in priority areas in the country to ensure that high risk population
have access to both prevention and care programmes.

About the Joint AIDS Mission to Indonesia

Responding to the increased commitment from donors to support a coordinated,
national response to AIDS in Indonesia, Dr Peter Piot, UNAIDS Executive Director
is returning to the archipelago in a joint AIDS mission with Suma Chakrabarti,
the Permanent Secretary of DfID (UK), Bruce Davis, the Director General of
AusAID, and Andrew Steer, Country Director, the World Bank.

The purpose of the joint mission to Indonesia is to discuss the current AIDS
situation with the government of Indonesia and to develop a collective
understanding about the challenges of coordination and harmonization of
programmes as well as practical implementation issues impending nation-wide
scale-up of HIV prevention and care programmes.

The Australian government through AusAID has been providing support to the
Indonesian national AIDS response since 1995. Since 1995 Australia has committed
a total of AUD 61 million to support Indonesia's response to AIDS that includes
AUD $27 million through the HIV/AIDS and STD Prevention and Care Project
(1995-2002). This support is being continued with the AUD $34 million Indonesia
HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care Program (IHPCP) (2002-07).

Early in 2005, the UK Government through the Department for International
Development (DfID) pledged a total of £25 million to the Indonesian Partnership
Fund for AIDS.

World AIDS Day in Indonesia

The Vice President of Indonesia, HE Yusuf Kalla hosted an official World AIDS
Day ceremony today at the Vice President’s Palace and invited heads of 100
HIV/AIDS priority districts in Indonesia. In his official speech he urged the
district heads to scale-up the AIDS response in these areas.

The Indonesian National AIDS Commission identifies there are at least 100
municipalities/regencies across 21 provinces in Indonesia that urgently need an
accelerated comprehensive AIDS response.

Prior to the ceremony, Vice President HE Yusuf Kalla met privately with Dr Peter
Piot, UNAIDS Executive Director, Suma Chakrabarti, Permanent Secretary to DfID
and Bruce Davies, General Director of AusAID, who came together to Indonesia in
an official joint AIDS mission. At the end of the private meeting, the Vice
President and the joint AIDS delegations also met with 10 representatives of
people living with HIV.

“Leadership & HIV/AIDS Response” is the theme of the national AIDS campaign in
Indonesia. It is derived from the theme of global World AIDS Campaign 2005:
“Keep the Promise”, a theme that has been chosen to ensure that governments and
policymakers around the world meet the targets they have agreed to in the fight
against HIV and AIDS in UNGASS declaration of Commitments in 2001. The
government of Indonesia believes that increasing leadership on AIDS is the most
important target that the government of Indonesia must ensure in order to
respond effectively to the AIDS epidemic in Indonesia.

In addition to the Vice President HE Yusuf Kalla, five cabinet Ministers
attended the World AIDS Day event at the Vice President Palace - the
Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare as the Chair of the National AIDS
Commission, the Minister of Home Affairs as the chair of the national AIDS
campaign 2005 in Indonesia, Minister of Health, Minister for Social Affairs and
Minister for Religious Affairs.
_______________________
For more information please contact: Elis Widen, tel: +62 21 3141885 / +62 812
1970 449 - Email. elis.unaids@... - UNAIDS Secretariat in Indonesia

World AIDS Day is commemorated around the world on 1 December. This year’s theme
is “Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise”. For more information, visit www.unaids.org.

Elis Widen - Communication & Advocacy - UNAIDS Secretariat - Jl. MH Thamriv Kav.
3, Jakarta 10250 - Ph. +62 21 314 1885 - Fax. +62 21 390 7569 - Email.
elis.unaids@... - Website. www.unaids.org