Background
In contrast to other regions in Indonesia, the HIV epidemic in Tanah Papua continues to increase, with a prevalence rate of 2.3%. According to the Ministry of Health’s data, there are around 26,000 people living with HIV in Papua, whereas 16,000 of them have entered the AIDS phase. The majority of infections occur among native Papuans which means that HIV evolves as a generalised epidemic and significantly increases the risk of HIV among women and children. The latest report from the District Health Office in Sorong shows a 3% positivity rate on children (aged 0–19) and 1% on pregnant women, while Manokwari reported a 3% and a 2%, respectively.
Even though there have been positive steps, there are still a number of obstacles in Tanah Papua:
- Scarcity of HIV services and the uneven distribution of HIV prevention, testing, and treatment facilities due to geographical constraints
- Stigma & discrimination, and especially for women, gender inequality and gender-based violence prevent them from seeking HIV-related health services
- Health services are yet to be sensitized on HIV issues and able to provide child-friendly services
- Lack of outreach activities for non-key populations groups including pregnant women results in a low understanding of reproductive health
- Lack of child-friendly HIV medication
Objectives
- To ensure all children living with HIV in Sorong (Southwest Papua) and Manokwari (West Papua) are supported to start and continue their treatment and live healthy lives.
- Community system strengthening is one of the key strategies of IAC. Through support groups, IAC envisions community members who are aware of their rights and capable of self-advocacy.
- With the campaign to support the reduction of stigma and discrimination, the social environment is expected to be more inclusive of people living with HIV, especially children, hence increasing their willingness to seek treatments and health services.
About the Kids to Care model
The Aidsfonds Kids to Care model empowers communities to strengthen the links between communities and health facilities to find, test, treat and retain children, and pregnant and lactating mothers, living with HIV in care. The Kids to Care model is built on the following foundation principles:
- Community-owned and community-led
- Builds on existing community structures
- Child and family centred
- Builds on government frameworks and policies
- Key stakeholders are meaningfully involved from the beginning
- Interventions are informed by data
- Committed to sustainability and long-term support
More about the Kids to Care model can be found here
