Batam, Indonesia
The first HIV[e]Education training in Indonesia was organized together with Stichting Nederland Batam (the NeBa Foundation),
the University of Jakarta and the Ministry of Health of Indonesia.
The kickoff meeting took place on 7 June 2007 on the island of Batam, and the 3-day follow up workshop was held in September 2007.
We were very happy and proud to welcome 63 health care workers to the initial kickoff meeting.
During the workshop, Dr. Marcia Weaver, Research Associate Professor at
the University of Washington, joined our team to evaluate the first
HIV[e]Education training in Indonesia.
We chose to start the Indonesia training in Batam for several
reasons. One reason is its long-term relationship with the NeBa
foundation, who celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2007. The second was that Rumah
Sakit Budi Kemuliaan hospital in Batam was able to build a large new
HIV/AIDS wing in the hospital thanks to the generous gifts of several
Dutch organizations like the Amsterdam Diner and the Dutch AIDS Fonds. However, the hospital did not extend its infectious disease unit in 2007, while 20% of all people tested for HIV tested positive.
Therefore, the need of proper trained healthcare workers was clear and
the island of Batam and the surrounding Riau Islands were a logical first
step for launching a serious pilot of HIV[e]Education in Indonesia.
