Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09DILI181
2009-07-24 03:19:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Dili
Cable title:
HIV/AIDS PREVALENCE LOW, BUT VULNERABILITIES PERSIST
how-toVZCZCXRO5198 RR RUEHCHI RUEHHM RUEHNH DE RUEHDT #0181/01 2050319 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 240319Z JUL 09 FM AMEMBASSY DILI TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4464 INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 1300 RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC RUEHLI/AMEMBASSY LISBON 1135 RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC RHHJJPI/PACOM IDHS HONOLULU HI RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC RUEHC/USAID WASHDC RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC RUEHDT/AMEMBASSY DILI 3999
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DILI 000181
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KHIV SOCI PGOV MASS TT
SUBJECT: HIV/AIDS PREVALENCE LOW, BUT VULNERABILITIES PERSIST
DILI 00000181 001.2 OF 002
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DILI 000181
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KHIV SOCI PGOV MASS TT
SUBJECT: HIV/AIDS PREVALENCE LOW, BUT VULNERABILITIES PERSIST
DILI 00000181 001.2 OF 002
1. (U) SUMMARY: Timor-Leste remains a low HIV prevalence
country, but porous borders, an influx of sex workers from
abroad, and low awareness about the disease could lead to an
increase in HIV/AIDS infected persons. The national response
has focused on prevention, education, testing, and treatment.
The Ministry of Health and the NGO community have worked on
various programs to bring services to the districts outside Dili
and provide prevention awareness to at-risk populations. USAID,
DoD, and other implementing partners have also administered
various programs focusing on HIV/AIDS prevention. END SUMMARY.
--------------
HIV/AIDS Profile in Timor
--------------
2. (U) The World Health Organization estimates that as much as
0.5 percent of Timor-Leste's population of 1.1 million could be
HIV positive, approximately 5,000 individuals. According to
official statistics, 121 Timorese have contracted AIDS since
2001, 17 of which have died. The most at-risk populations
include commercial sex workers, clients of sex workers, military
personnel, men who have sex with men, and intravenous drug users.
3. (U) HIV/AIDS prevalence is highest in Dili and the Western
districts near the border with Indonesia, both of which are
affected by the commercial sex trade. There are an estimated
500 sex workers in Timor-Leste, the majority of which work in
Dili brothels operated by Chinese and Indonesian crime
syndicates. Sex workers illegally cross the border from West
Timor, which has the second highest HIV/AIDS prevalence of all
Indonesian provinces. In 2003, UNAIDS found that three percent
of sex workers in Timor were HIV positive.
--------------
National Response
--------------
4. (U) Timor-Leste adopted a National Strategic Plan for
HIV/AIDS covering 2006-2010 and appointed an independent
National AIDS Commission to advise the GOTL and monitor the
progress of the Strategic Plan. The Ministry of Health, in an
effort to provide HIV/AIDS services in the more remote
districts, established 17 HIV/AIDS clinics throughout the
country, although six lack equipment and are not fully
operational. The cornerstone of the clinics' activities is
voluntary counseling and testing. The Ministry also administers
a peer education outreach program for sex workers.
5. (U) Beginning in 2007, the Ministry of Health, NGOs, and
donor countries have distributed condoms throughout the country.
The Catholic Church (over 96 percent of Timorese profess to be
Catholic) initially condemned condom distribution but relaxed
its opposition in late 2008, after which time the number of
condoms distributed jumped dramatically. Many have gone to
military and police personnel.
--------------
International Assistance
--------------
DILI 00000181 002.2 OF 002
6. (U) The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria
approved a 5-year, $ 8.66 million grant to Timor-Leste in 2006
to improve prevention services, increase access to information,
expand treatment and care services, and strengthen healthcare
systems. USAID supported the development of the first National
HIV/AIDS program, and the USAID-supported Coffee Cooperative
Timor-Leste has established five clinics where employees can
receive testing, counseling, treatment, and care services.
International NGOs such as Catholic Relief Services have
sponsored HIV/AIDS programs targeted at clients of sex workers
in Timor-Leste.
7. (U) The Department of Defense HIV/AIDS Prevention Program
(DHAPP) worked with NGOs to provide HIV/AIDS assistance to the
Timorese military (F-FDTL). PACOM also has worked with F-FDTL,
providing funds for HIV prevention, education, and testing, as
well as thousands of condoms for uniformed personnel.
--------------
Comment
--------------
8. (SBU) The number of HIV/AIDS cases in Timor remains
relatively small, but the country's low level of development and
lack of human capacity in the healthcare field make it
vulnerable to greater levels of infection, particularly if the
commercial sex trade and intravenous drug use continue to
increase. Health care services are limited and there are few
resources available to assist intravenous drug users or to
expand prevention operations in remote areas. The gap between
official statistics and the reality on the ground suggest
Timor-Leste's HIV/AIDS problem may be more severe than the
government realizes. HIV/AIDS has struck several prominent
Timorese including the director of the government's statistical
bureau who died in 2008, and the Chief Justice of the Court of
Appeals, who returned to service in March 2009 after an extended
convalescence in Lisbon during much of 2008. Several members of
UNMIT have been diagnosed with the disease.
KLEMM
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KHIV SOCI PGOV MASS TT
SUBJECT: HIV/AIDS PREVALENCE LOW, BUT VULNERABILITIES PERSIST
DILI 00000181 001.2 OF 002
1. (U) SUMMARY: Timor-Leste remains a low HIV prevalence
country, but porous borders, an influx of sex workers from
abroad, and low awareness about the disease could lead to an
increase in HIV/AIDS infected persons. The national response
has focused on prevention, education, testing, and treatment.
The Ministry of Health and the NGO community have worked on
various programs to bring services to the districts outside Dili
and provide prevention awareness to at-risk populations. USAID,
DoD, and other implementing partners have also administered
various programs focusing on HIV/AIDS prevention. END SUMMARY.
--------------
HIV/AIDS Profile in Timor
--------------
2. (U) The World Health Organization estimates that as much as
0.5 percent of Timor-Leste's population of 1.1 million could be
HIV positive, approximately 5,000 individuals. According to
official statistics, 121 Timorese have contracted AIDS since
2001, 17 of which have died. The most at-risk populations
include commercial sex workers, clients of sex workers, military
personnel, men who have sex with men, and intravenous drug users.
3. (U) HIV/AIDS prevalence is highest in Dili and the Western
districts near the border with Indonesia, both of which are
affected by the commercial sex trade. There are an estimated
500 sex workers in Timor-Leste, the majority of which work in
Dili brothels operated by Chinese and Indonesian crime
syndicates. Sex workers illegally cross the border from West
Timor, which has the second highest HIV/AIDS prevalence of all
Indonesian provinces. In 2003, UNAIDS found that three percent
of sex workers in Timor were HIV positive.
--------------
National Response
--------------
4. (U) Timor-Leste adopted a National Strategic Plan for
HIV/AIDS covering 2006-2010 and appointed an independent
National AIDS Commission to advise the GOTL and monitor the
progress of the Strategic Plan. The Ministry of Health, in an
effort to provide HIV/AIDS services in the more remote
districts, established 17 HIV/AIDS clinics throughout the
country, although six lack equipment and are not fully
operational. The cornerstone of the clinics' activities is
voluntary counseling and testing. The Ministry also administers
a peer education outreach program for sex workers.
5. (U) Beginning in 2007, the Ministry of Health, NGOs, and
donor countries have distributed condoms throughout the country.
The Catholic Church (over 96 percent of Timorese profess to be
Catholic) initially condemned condom distribution but relaxed
its opposition in late 2008, after which time the number of
condoms distributed jumped dramatically. Many have gone to
military and police personnel.
--------------
International Assistance
--------------
DILI 00000181 002.2 OF 002
6. (U) The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria
approved a 5-year, $ 8.66 million grant to Timor-Leste in 2006
to improve prevention services, increase access to information,
expand treatment and care services, and strengthen healthcare
systems. USAID supported the development of the first National
HIV/AIDS program, and the USAID-supported Coffee Cooperative
Timor-Leste has established five clinics where employees can
receive testing, counseling, treatment, and care services.
International NGOs such as Catholic Relief Services have
sponsored HIV/AIDS programs targeted at clients of sex workers
in Timor-Leste.
7. (U) The Department of Defense HIV/AIDS Prevention Program
(DHAPP) worked with NGOs to provide HIV/AIDS assistance to the
Timorese military (F-FDTL). PACOM also has worked with F-FDTL,
providing funds for HIV prevention, education, and testing, as
well as thousands of condoms for uniformed personnel.
--------------
Comment
--------------
8. (SBU) The number of HIV/AIDS cases in Timor remains
relatively small, but the country's low level of development and
lack of human capacity in the healthcare field make it
vulnerable to greater levels of infection, particularly if the
commercial sex trade and intravenous drug use continue to
increase. Health care services are limited and there are few
resources available to assist intravenous drug users or to
expand prevention operations in remote areas. The gap between
official statistics and the reality on the ground suggest
Timor-Leste's HIV/AIDS problem may be more severe than the
government realizes. HIV/AIDS has struck several prominent
Timorese including the director of the government's statistical
bureau who died in 2008, and the Chief Justice of the Court of
Appeals, who returned to service in March 2009 after an extended
convalescence in Lisbon during much of 2008. Several members of
UNMIT have been diagnosed with the disease.
KLEMM