Since
the 1970s, Indonesia has been active in the areas
of supply reduction and demand reduction to control
the importation, distribution, sale and use of
illicit drugs, including heroin, marijuana and,
since the 1990s, methamphetamines and ecstasy.
In 2001, the National Narcotics Coordinating Agency
( BKNN ) was restructured as the National Narcotics
Agency ( BNN ). The vision of the BNN is to achieve
an Indonesia free of drug abuse and trafficking
by 2015, which is in line with the country's commitment
to the regional goal of a drug-free ASEAN by the
same year. For a long time, drug abuse was viewed
in Indonesia almost exclusively as a criminal
and security issue, with all efforts reflecting
these concerns; police intervention methods included
the confiscation of smuggled drugs and the jailing
of both dealers and users. According to Octavery
"Very" Kamil, head of the Injecting
Drug Users Intervention Unit at Aksi Stop AIDS!,
drug abuse began to be addressed also as a public
health issue around 2002, largely due to the recognition
of its connection with the HIV/AIDS epidemic and
the harm reduction ( HR ) movement. Very explained
that since 2002, the Health Ministry and the National
AIDS Commission (NAC or Komisi Penanggulangan
AIDS/KPA) had accepted harm reduction as part
of HIV/AIDS prevention efforts in Indonesia, and
that this had been implemented to some extent
through the medical services units of the ministry
and NAC.
HR has thus become the "third pillar"
of drug abuse intervention policy, along with
the supply and demand reduction efforts. However,
details on Indonesia's HIV/AIDS policy specifically
mentioning HR were only made official in a late-2006
document compiled by the office of the Coordinating
Minister for People's Welfare. "This document
gave big moral support," said Very, "since
now the implementers ( of HR programs ) feel they
are doing the right thing."
Although the National Police and the BNN are represented
in the NAC and thus are bound to support HR for
IDUs as an approach in controlling the HIV/AIDS
epidemic, Very noted that representatives of these
bodies were often reported making statements contradictory
to HR. "( Indonesia's ) commitment to HR
programs is still limited to policy on paper,
while in terms of commitments of resources and
funding, Indonesia is still completely dependent
on foreign support," he said.
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