The call of the mother, Uti or grandmother, until the mother exploded from a group of children who ran into the house after being content to play on the swings, when VOA visited a home for children with HIV/AIDS ADHA in Solo, Thursday (1/12) . One of the women called by the children came out of the room, and immediately the children clung to her spoiled. The woman named Islamiyah welcomed VOA in a friendly way. She asked the children around her to play in the yard first.
Islamiyah, who has been a volunteer accompanying ADHA for years, said there were 39 ADHAs living in the “Solo Lentera Foundation.” Together with eight other volunteers, Islamiyah is dedicated to caring for these children. Although there is no blood or family relationship between the volunteers and the children, the nicknames Mother, Uti or grandmother to Mama make their bond very close.
“I used to take care of ADHA during the day, now I am 24 hours in this house. Yes, I am motivated to care and take care of these children, they are orphans. The ups and downs are happy to be helpful for the ADHA, seeing them healthy, laughing, playing. I like children, I consider them as my children or grandchildren. It’s sad when they take their daily medicine. I can’t bear it. It’s very difficult,” Islamiyah said while watching an ADHA group play on Thursday (1/12).
Islamiyah added that a 17-year-old ADHA had just died. He couldn’t hold back the tears recalling his memories of him with that baby in the house.
“I cry when I see their condition go down, their immunity goes down, which makes me panic. We immediately coordinate with the foundation board so they can be taken to the hospital right away. Yes, often in the middle of the night, in early morning morning is normal. That’s why in the middle of the night I check ADHA status one by one,” said the volunteer who takes care of ADHA, adding that she will never get tired of taking care of them.
“I always think what if it was my son, or I was in their position. That way I consider them a part of my life,” she said.
ADHA House
The ADHA house in Solo was established in 2017. A sign that reads “LENTERA” is installed in front of the house. The slogan: “Save ADHA’s Life at Any Cost” stands under the identification bulletin board. The house has several rooms, a kitchen, a main meeting room and a playground.
The conversation with VOA was interrupted for a moment when a six-year-old called Islamiyah. “Mom,” he yelled spoiled. As if he understood her desire for him, Islamiyah then asked him to play while she fed him. He even changed her diapers.
Government: Tens of thousands of Indonesian children are infected with HIV
The Director of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control of the Ministry of Health, Imran Pambudi, revealed that not all HIV-infected children in Indonesia have received treatment.
“Of the 12,500 who started treatment, only about 7,800. So the gap is still quite large,” Imran said as a guest speaker in an online discussion on World AIDS Day on Tuesday (11/29).
Imran also revealed that boys are more affected by HIV than girls.
Central Java is one of the three provinces that have the highest number of children living with HIV/AIDS in Indonesia. From January to September 2022, there were 46,456 children under 14 in Indonesia who were tested for HIV, and there are approximately 12,553 whose HIV status is now known. Of that amount, half came from Central Java. There were 739 cases found nationwide, Central Java contributed 85 cases, under West Java, East Java and DKI Jakarta.
Data from the Ministry of Health for 2022 records Indonesia’s HIV/AIDS case outcomes for 2022 as still below forecasts. The Ministry of Health expects another 30,000 cases a year. The accumulation of cases from 30 years ago is expected to reach 596,000 cases. However, data through 2022 is already in the range of 417,000 cases or 79 percent of that forecast. HIV prevalence in Indonesia in most areas is 0.26%, with the highest prevalence recorded in Papua and West Papua reaching 1.8%.
“The challenge of dealing with HIV in Indonesia is quite big,” Imran said. [ys/em]
