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BANDA ACEH – Access to treatment and self-discipline: these are the two key ingredients for those who are HIV-positive to stay healthy – says Anas, head of the Aceh chapter of the Positive Indonesia Network (JIP), an advocacy and support group of people living with HIV. It’s been JIP’s mission to support those infected with HIV and to advocate for prevention and early detection for over a decade across the country, including in Aceh. “A lot has changed in the last 15 years,” Anas says. “Most importantly, everyone now has access to quality treatment as HIV treatment is provided by the government free of charge.”However, living with HIV is still not easy anywhere, including in Banda Aceh. “Many of the HIV+ people I know lost their jobs after their bosses found out about the diagnosis,” said a former waiter living with HIV who asked not to be identified. He was diagnosed with HIV in 2011 and started HIV treatment soon after. He has been completely symptom free with his viral load below the level at which transmission can occur. “Still, we now know better and do not discuss it,” he said.In Aceh, Indonesia’s only province with sharia law, talking about sex is taboo and HIV can be seen as a moral issue. Getting people at risk to access HIV services can be a challenge due to stigma associated with HIV. There are around 650,000 people in the country living with HIV, two thirds of them young men. Increasingly, new HIV cases are reported among young men across the country,
including in Aceh.“There are around 50 new HIV positive diagnoses per year in Aceh, a number that is significantly higher than a few years ago”, said says Yunidar Redmi, the representative of the Indonesian Family Planning Association (PKBI) in Banda Aceh. PKBI has been actively working to conduct community outreach to promote HIV testing and prevention services with support from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.“Many people who were HIV positive or suspected they may be so were scared to go to hospitals because of stigmatization,” said Chandra Mohammad, liaison officer at JIP headquarters in Jakarta. “This should no longer be the case as HIV treatment is fully subsidized, and the HIV programme is one of the national priorities on health.”To support the government in reaching more people living with HIV with quality HIV treatment, JIP is spearheading community-led monitoring on HIV with support from the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). Under what is called community-led monitoring, people affected by HIV systematically monitor services, analyze the data they collect and contact evidence-driven advocacy to improve service delivery. “Community-led monitoring is increasingly recognized by authorities as a tool to improve the effectiveness, quality and acceptability of HIV program. If services are available, high quality and stigma-free, more people will seek diagnosis and treatment,” said Elis Widen, Community Support Adviser at UNAIDS Indonesia.In Indonesia, community-led monitoring has been in place since 2020; community cells operate in 22 provinces and involve over 900 volunteers. In addition to UNAIDS support, community-led monitoring has also been supported by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria across all HIV priority districts in Indonesia.“We are pleased with the initiative from the national network of people living with HIV in Indonesia to spearhead community-led monitoring, including in Aceh,” said Prima Yosephine, Acting Director of Communicable Disease at the country’s Ministry of Health. “Feedback on HIV services is essential for strengthening the quality, accessibility, and continuity of care. This initiative demonstrates how meaningful community engagement can enhance early diagnosis, support treatment adherence, and contribute to reducing new infections. We remain committed to working closely with community partners to ensure that no one is left behind in the national HIV response.”