MANILA, Jan 8, 2008 (AFP) - Indonesia's construction boom is driving an "exponential" rise in HIV-AIDS infections as migrant workers are more likely to engage in high-risk sex, the Asian Development Bank warned Tuesday.
The Manila-based ADB said the spread of HIV-AIDS could kill up to 100,000 Indonesians within two years.
"As in other parts of the world, the three Ms -- men, mobility and money -- are key ingredients for the spread of HIV," the bank said in a statement after approving a grant to help Jakarta tackle the problem.
It singled out the construction industry, which grew nine percent last year and accounts for five percent of the labour force and 8.4 percent of the country's gross domestic product.
"As Indonesia addresses its backlog of investment needs and meets new growth-generated demand, the sector will remain strong" and "mobile construction workers away from home are more likely to engage in high-risk behaviour than the general population," the bank said.
The bank said cases of HIV that causes AIDS had "been increasing exponentially" since 2000 in Indonesia, where it said the health ministry estimated 220,000 people of working age were living with HIV or AIDS last year.
Another 8.2 million people were "at high risk".
"By 2010, the number of people with HIV and AIDS is projected to reach 400,000 and it is expected that 100,000 will have died of AIDS," it said.
HIV-AIDS has now spread to all but one of the country's 33 provinces and sex workers were overtaking injecting drug users as the ones most at risk, it added.
The ADB said it had approved a 200,000-dollar technical assistance grant to help Jakarta "mitigate the risk of HIV associated with infrastructure development."
The ADB grant will help Indonesia develop an HIV prevention strategy for the construction sector, including educating construction workers on safe sex.
080108
AF080111
Copyright ©AFP 2008. All Rights Reserved. AFP articles contained on the AEGiS web site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without AFP's prior written permission. You may make one copy of each article for your personal, non-commercial use only; more copies would require AFP's prior written permission obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP photos or materials. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP stories, photos or graphics. http://www.afp.com/
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bridgestone/Firestone Charitable Trust, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Elton John AIDS Foundation, Gill Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Quest Diagnostics, Roche and Trimeris, and donations from users like you.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. This article first appeared in 2008. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2008. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.