Australia & Clinton Foundation Team Up to Combat HIV in Indonesia

Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Bill Farmer, said he welcomed yesterday’s announcement that Australia would contribute A$3.9 million (Rp32 billion) through the Clinton Foundation to help combat HIV in Indonesia.

Australia’s Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance, Bob McMullan, yesterday signed a A$3.9 million agreement with Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative Chair, Ira Magaziner, in Canberra.

The new funding for Indonesia is part of a A$25 million Australian Government commitment to support the Foundation’s HIV/AIDS Initiative in the Asia Pacific region from 2006 to 2010.

Work funded through this agreement is already underway in Vietnam, China and Papua New Guinea, where the Foundation is working with governments and other partners to increase the availability of high-quality AIDS care and treatment for people in need.

“HIV is one of the greatest threats to economic and social development in the Asia Pacific region, including Indonesia,” Farmer said. “We are therefore committed to working with the Indonesian Government and partners like the Clinton Foundation to help combat HIV.”

He said that under the MOU, Australia would work with the Clinton Foundation to improve access to life-saving drugs for people living with HIV and to increase the availability of diagnostic testing in Indonesia.

This new funding is one component of the Australia-Indonesia Partnership for HIV. Over the next eight years, Australia will provide A$100 million to prevent and limit the spread of HIV in Indonesia, to improve the quality of life for people living with the virus, and to alleviate its socio-economic impact.

The HIV epidemic in Indonesia is among the fastest growing in Asia. About 170,000 people are infected with HIV and its prevalence among adults is as high as 2.4 per cent in some provinces.

Information for media:
John Williams (Counsellor, Public Affairs) – 0812 105 3989