The number of HIV and AIDS cases in Indonesia is climbing, particularly among young people. Editor Maureen Bathgate spoke with one group who is tackling the problem head on.

Indonesia stands at the crossroads in terms of HIV and AIDS. As recently as 1999, it barely registered on the HIV and AIDS map, with less than 1,000 of its 210 million inhabitants known to be HIV positive.

But in the last few years the number of cases has soared, with the latest United Nations figures estimating that about 120,000 people in Indonesia are living with HIV and AIDS.

Yogyakarta, or "Jogja" as locals call it, is one Indonesian city bracing itself for the epidemic. Located in south-central Java, the city of 484,000 people has witnessed the number of reported AIDS cases rise from just four in 2001, to well over 100 in 2004. The real figure is likely to be much higher due to under-reporting.

This number is rising rapidly, due to the city's high student population, thriving sex industry, large gay and transgender community and high level of intravenous drug use. With condom use considered shameful, sterile needles difficult to come by and public information on HIV and AIDS limited, the situation is looking grim. Recently, HIV has started to spread into the general community, with several cases of women with no known risk factors and mother to child transmission.

Working with our local partner organisation JOY, we are trying to help stem the tide, by providing education, prevention, information and support programs for people in Jogja living with HIV and AIDS, their friends and family and the wider community.

JOY Program Coordinator Hendriannto "Prima" Primarendra says that most HIV and AIDS cases in Jogja are among young people aged between 25 and 30. "Most of them didn't know what HIV was," he said. "That's why we have a lot of work to do."

JOY has developed an information leaflet on HIV and AIDS which is placed in the back seat of taxis, as well as stickers, posters, drink coasters and radio and television advertisements, in an effort to get the word out to the general community. With our support, the group has recently opened an information centre in central Jogja which offers information, counselling, workshops and regular peer support meetings.

"Before, our offices were far from the city, up on a hill about 1½ hours by public transportation. Now we are located in downtown Jogja, we are much more accessible," Prima says.

JOY has built a strong local network with doctors, hospitals, police, non-government organisations and health officials to tackle the city's HIV and AIDS epidemic. As a result, Jogja now has four hospitals that are willing to take patients with HIV and AIDS.

But some big obstacles still lie ahead. With intravenous drug users comprising more than half the HIV and AIDs cases in Jogja, Prima says programs need to be introduced which minimise the risk of HIV infection from drug use.

"In Jogja, it is hard to get sterile needles because there is no project for harm reduction," he says. "So the drug users have to go to the drug store to get clean needles and sometimes the drug store doesn't give them. Mostly drug users only have money to buy drugs - they don't have enough money to buy clean needles as well."

In November last year we supported two JOY members to attend a harm reduction course in Melbourne. While the group hopes to establish a harm reduction program in Jogja, it realises it faces an uphill battle in getting all the key stakeholders to agree.

"HIV and AIDS is a big problem in Jogja," Prima says. "But the best part is we can do it - we just need to work together."