ID :
73217
Fri, 07/31/2009 - 16:03
Auther :

HIV/AIDS PROGRAM TO INCLUDE SUFFERERS' ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT



Cikeas, Bogor, July 31 (ANTARA) - Economic empowerment of HIV/AIDS sufferers and their families will be part of the national HIV/AIDS handling program, according to Nafsiah Mboi, Secretary of the National HIV/AIDS Commission.

The economic empowerment program was expected to help HIV/AIDS sufferers to deal with their economic problems, Nafisah Mboi said after a meeting with First Lady Ani Yudhoyono here on Friday.

"They need money to pay for their therapy and medical treatment. Hopefully the economic empowerment program will be able to help them earn some money," Mboi said.

Nafsiah Mboi met the first lady together with Prof. Dr. Zubairi Djoerban, chairman of the organizing committee of the Ninth International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific.

According to Mboi, Ani Yudhoyono, in her capacity as the National AIDS ambassador of Indonesia, expressed her support for the economic empowerment plan.

"one of the ways is by abolishing their stigma as HIV sufferers and those most vulnerable to the virus," she said.

They would be given a number of trainings and skills, she said.

The Ninth International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) would be held in Bali, on August 9-13, 2009, the OC Chairman Prof. Dr. Zubairi Djoerban, concurrently chairman of the Community's Concern about AIDS, said at the meeting with Mrs Yudhoyono.

The congress would be attended by around 3,000 participants representing 51 countries in Asia and 14 nations in the Pacific, he said.

The theme of the international congress would be "Empowering People, Strengthening Networks."
The 9th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific in Bali in August 2009 aims to address, among others, issues of mobility, migration, as well as gender and people with disabilities in order to empower the people and strengthen networks to effectively respond to AIDS.

Before the opening ceremony of the Congress in Bali on August 9, Ani Yudhoyono, concurrently Indonesia's AIDS ambassador, together with Australia's AIDS ambassador Murray Proctor, will hold a high level meeting of AIDS ambassadors.

The AIDS Ambassadors' Meeting will address the role of AIDS ambassadors in the Asia and Pacific region and how they can be mobilized for greater action and accountability for the response.

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