Jakarta – The HIV PIMS Task Force from the Ministry of Health’s Directorate of Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, Endang Lukitosari, MPH, reported that a significant number of young and adolescent individuals are contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs) other than HIV, such as gonorrhea and syphilis.
According to data from the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes RI) from January to September 2024, there were 6,885 reported cases of gonorrhea in Indonesia. Some of these cases involved individuals under 15 years old as well as those between 15 and 19 years old.
Meanwhile, in the case of syphilis, from January to September 2024, there were 245 cases of primary syphilis, 239 cases of secondary syphilis, and 49 cases of congenital syphilis reported in Indonesia.
“We have found some data showing that individuals under 15 years old have already contracted gonorrhea or syphilis,” she said during a webinar on Saturday, December 1, 2024.
“This issue is also common among young adolescents and young adults, particularly with gonorrhea and syphilis,” she continued.
Therefore, she emphasized the importance of sexual and reproductive health education for young adults and adolescents.
On the other hand, she also revealed that from January to September 2024, there were 35,415 reported cases of HIV and 12,481 cases of AIDS. These figures nearly exceeded last year’s total HIV/AIDS cases, which surpassed 50,000.
She also noted that HIV cases are occurring in adolescents under 20 years old. “We are quite amazed that 6 percent of cases are among adolescents,” she explained.
Nearly 90 percent of HIV cases are found in adolescents and young adults, or individuals in the productive age group. Among the key populations affected by HIV/AIDS, men who have sex with men (MSM) remain the largest group.
“If we look at the reported cases, 19 percent occurred in the 20-24 age range, which corresponds to young adults, while 60 percent of the cases were in adults aged 25 to 49,” she said.
“Together, these age groups make up almost 90 percent of the cases, which are primarily found in adolescents, young adults, and the productive age group. The key population group with the largest proportion of cases is MSM, at 31 percent, followed by HIV-positive partners and clients of sex workers,” she concluded.
