FIRST LADY RECEIVES HIV/AIDS ENVOYS FROM NETHERLANDS,AUSTRALIA

Jakarta, Oct. 16 (ANTARA) - First Lady Ani Yudhoyono received HIV/AIDs envoys from the Netherlands and Australia, respectively Paul Bekker and Murray Proctor, at the State Palace here on Thursday.

Other guests included Christian Kroll, global coordinator of the HIV/AIDs Unit of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Dr Nafsiah Mboi, the secretary of the Indonesian National Commission of AIDS Control.
According to Murray Proctor after a one-hour closed-door meeting with the First Lady, in the meeting they exchanged views on and experiences in dealing with HID/AIDS.
Meanwhile, Paul Bekker of the Netherlands said he admired the First Lady's perspectives and deep knowledge about HIV/AIDS treatment.
Ani Yudhoyono's views on HIV/AIDS handling in Indonesia was in line with the global condition.
Indonesia is one of the countries where the number of HIV cases is growing fast while the figure for Asia is actually declining.
According to recent data, up to March 2008 the number of HIV/AIDS cases in Indonesia was 17,998. About 10 percent of the patients are HIV carriers while the remaining 90 percent are patients about to develop full-blown AIDS