the Jakarta Post, 4 August 2014

The Papua provincial administration plans to build a hospital especially for the treatment of HIV/AIDS patients, an official has said.

"So far the treatment of HIV/AIDs patients has been discriminatory. There must be a hospital specifically to treat those infected by HIV/AIDS," head of the Papua Health Office Aloysius Giyai said in Jayapura on Monday as quoted by Antara news agency.

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Sejauhmana dampak pemberlakuan OTSUS di Papua terhadap layanan hak kesehatan warga Papua setelah hampir 12 tahun implementasi kebijakan tersebut? Amanat dari UU Otsus Papua no. 21 Tahun 2001 pasal 36 disebutkan bahwa dana untuk kesehatan dan peningkatan Gizi dari Dana Otsus dialokasikan sebesar 15 % dan 20 % dari Dana APBD. Penambahan anggaran ini secara logis akan meningkatkan pada aspek kesehatan ini berkonsekwensi logis pada meningkatnya derajat dan kualitas kesehatan masyarakat Papua. Akan tetapi Realitas berbicara lain, Refleksi 10 tahun implementasi Otsus justru menunjukkan persoalan kesehatan masyarakat Papua masih memprihatinkan.

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WHO dalam pembukaan konstitusinya mendefinisikan kesehatan sebagai suatu keadaan (state) kesejahteraan fisik, mental, dan sosial, bukan hanya tidak adanya penyakit fisik (WHO, 1948). Meskipun demikian, kesehatan jiwa adalah aspek yang sering kali terlupakan ketika membicarakan mengenai kesehatan. Secara umum, pendekatan kesehatan seringkali hanya memikirkan kesehatan fisik, yaitu tidak-adanya (absence of) penyakit yang disebabkan patogen maupun disfungsi fisik lainnya. Aspek kesejahteraan mental seringkali dilupakan dalam membicarakan kesehatan. Kalaupun dibicarakan, digunakan pendekatan biomedis, di mana kesehatan jiwa dibahas dalam tatanan pemberian pengobatan tertentu, bukan pendekatan psikologis yang mengarah pada perubahan perilaku.

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SABC, 2 August 2014

HIV/Aids researchers say primary health care workers need to be taught more about the early symptoms of HIV. This has transpired at an HIV/Aids Symposium in East London.

A 2012 survey revealed that the infection rate stood at 23 % for women and 15% for males. HIV/Aids Researcher David Patient says reducing the window period from three months to two weeks could make a huge difference.

Patient says, "There are very specific symptoms, it is called the acute retro viral syndrome, and those are flu like symptoms, the aching bones, sore throat, the fever and those kinds of things. The difference is there is no mucus, or discharge of any kind and what is happening in the primary health care sector is because the nursing staff has not been trained adequately enough, they are saying to the person you have flu take medication, drink water and go rest."

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Yuma Sun, 2 August 2014

While those infected with HIV or AIDS in Yuma County can still lead long fulfilling lives, the earlier they are diagnosed with the disease, the better the prognosis for their quality of life becomes.

"Do not be afraid" of getting tested, said Martha C. Rodriguez, Yuma County Health Department, HIV Program Medical Case Manager.

"If you are going to have something positive, you'd rather have HIV -- not AIDS -- because AIDS is now a disease. Can you be saved? Absolutely. The problem that folks (we) see with AIDS – they are immune compromised, more so than an HIV-positive person," and are highly susceptible to other diseases such as the flu.

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