"Among the 43 thousand AIDS carriers, 27,937 are men, while the number of women dying of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome is estimated to be 15,158," Wauran remarked here on Thursday.
He stated that the number of AIDS sufferers who died increased significantly in 2011 compared to those in the following years.
In 2011, a total of 23,818 AIDS carriers died, with the numbers increasing to 27,323 in 2012; 31,221 in 2013; 33,079 in 2014; and 39,119 in 2015.
"These figures showed a sharp increase and necessitates us to find ways to reduce the number of AIDS victims," he pointed out.
"An increase by 11 percent per annum will pose a threat to the younger generation of Indonesia in the coming 20 to 30 years," Wauran added.
Quoting figures from the Ministry of Health, Wauran asserted that the number of Indonesians now infected by HIV in estimated to be 96,480.
The figures include 61,196 men and 35,284 women.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
