Cause for concern: The number of pregnant women getting medical attention against STDs remains dangerously low. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
The Health Ministry has warned against the heightened danger of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS and syphilis, as the two sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) have seen an uptick in cases in recent years, while the number of pregnant women getting medical attention against these diseases remains dangerously low.
According to ministry data, over the past five years the number of syphilis cases in the country has increased by 70%, from 12,000 cases in 2018 to 20,700 cases in 2022.
A closer look at the number showed that 5,600 of these cases were found among pregnant women, although the actual number could be far bigger since only 25% of pregnant women had themselves tested.
Health Ministry spokesman Mohammad Syahril said to make matters worse, only 40% of pregnant women who had tested positive had gotten medication to suppress the disease.
Without medication, the probability of mother-to-child transmission of syphilis could reach up to 80%, Syahril said, as babies could get infected during pregnancy, labour or breastfeeding.
“[Syphilis among pregnant women] could result in forced abortion, a stillbirth, or even when the baby is born, it would still have congenital syphilis,” Syahril said.
HIV cases have been on the rise in recent years, with infection among housewives, who mostly got the disease from their husbands, being among the biggest contributors.
“Around 30% of [new HIV cases] were found in housewives, [who were infected] due to their husband’s promiscuous sexual behaviour.
“Every year, there are an additional 5,100 cases from this group,” Syahril said.
Despite this, the number of pregnant women who tested themselves for HIV remained low at only 55% and that, even among pregnant women who tested positive for the virus, only 24% were receiving HIV antiviral medicines.
This has resulted in an additional 1,000 new HIV cases discovered among children aged one to 14 years old annually.
“The figure would climb even higher if the detection and the number of [pregnant women] getting the necessary medication remained low,” Syahril said.
Syahril said the government has prioritised addressing the concerning level of early detection.
But he also said the huge social stigma often associated with STDs in the country remains a huge stumbling block, as the ministry has found instances of either the husband blocking the pregnant wife or the wife herself refraining from getting tested.
Epidemiologist Dicky Budiman of Griffith University, Australia, concurred, saying that social stigma is still “a classic problem” when it comes to early detection in STD cases in Indonesia.
“The stigma is still there, regardless of the economic or social [backgrounds] of pregnant women,” Dicky said.
“Women from a better economic standing might have the luxury [to get themselves tested] at better clinics that can ensure their privacy, but those from a lower standing do not have the luxury, and many [who tested positive] would often not get medicated as a result,” he said.
Dicky urged the government to work closely with regional administrations and NGOs to ensure that pregnant women, particularly those bordering the poverty line, have access to health services.
“There needs to be clinics set up in [areas] where women who are particularly vulnerable [to STD infection] live. There also needs to be health workers who can guide women and their children to these services,” he added. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
