Construction boom fuels Indonesian AIDS increase

A boom in construction in Indonesia is helping to fuel a rapid spread in HIV-infection in the South-East Asian country, according to a financial organisation.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) claimed that migrant workers employed in sectors such as construction were more likely to engage in high-risk sexual activity, AFP reported.

Approving a grant to help combat the spread of the disease in the capital Jakarta, the bank issued a statement highlighting the impact that the population movement was having on HIV levels.

The statement said: "As in other parts of the world, the three Ms - men, mobility and money - are key ingredients for the spread of HIV.

"Mobile construction workers away from home are more likely to engage in high-risk behaviour than the general population," it added.

According to figures provided by the ADB, HIV/AIDS could kill up to 100,000 Indonesians over the next two years, AFP reported, with 8.2 million people also classed as being at high risk from the disease.

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