Group photo of the Young Key Population Consortium

Jakarta, 9-12 June 2014 – UNFPA supported the National AIDS Commission and the Young Key Population Forum (Forum Populasi Kunci Usia Muda, or Fokus Muda) in conducting a discussion session for the Young Key Population Consortium on 9 – 12 June 2014 in Jakarta. The consortium is made up of 22 people from young key populations in 10 selected cities throughout Indonesia, hailing from DKI Jakarta, West, Central and East Java, Bali, South Sulawesi, North Sumatra, Yogyakarta and West Nusa Tenggara. The goal of the discussion session was for the Consortium to develop strategies for linking HIV and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) efforts to the needs of young key populations.

Commenting on the event, Dr. Fonny J. Silfanus, Deputy Programme Director ‎of the National AIDS Commission, said, “Young key populations should be involved in the development of the National AIDS Strategy and Action Plan (SRAN) for 2015-2019. This [meeting of the] consortium will facilitate their discussion from which they can propose some recommendations.”

The prevention of HIV remains a challenge for young key populations. Despite a low prevalence of HIV among the general population (0.4%) in 2014, there are epidemics in concentrated key populations.

"The interlinkage between HIV and SRHR is widely recognized. However, many of the policies, programmes and services addressing these two sector priorities are still not able to make adequate use of the potential of linking together. Indonesia needs to strengthen the linkages between HIV and SRHR at many levels, from the perspective of the donors, up to implementation practices.” -  Fokus Muda

The meeting of the consortium facilitated both capacity-building and consultation. The facilitators were interactive and participatory, allowing for an exchange of experiences from the perspective of the young key populations who actively engaged in the discussion of sexual and reproductive health issues. The participants also developed action plans for the purposes of raising awareness of HIV prevention within their respective communities.

“I am so happy to be a part of the consortium. I made so many new friends from different backgrounds and I learned a lot about issues of reproductive health and the prevention of HIV/AIDS, which is something new for me,” said Suciyanti Ramadhani, part of the delegation from West Nusa Tenggara.

In collaboration with the National AIDS Commission, UNFPA is supporting capacity-building for HIV Prevention Through Sexual Transmission (PMTS) among key populations such as sex workers and their clients. UNFPA aims to improve planning, implementation and monitoring of HIV prevention programmes to reduce sexual transmission of HIV in Indonesia.

For more information, please contact:

Ms. Oldri Sherli Mukuan

HIV Programme Officer at UNFPA Indonesia

mukuan@unfpa.org or +62 811 2030 829

Tags: HIV/AIDS