Electronic Monitoring for AIDS/HIV in Indonesia

Implanted electronic computer chips have faced great success in their various uses. Lost dogs have been found and reunited with their anxious owners, sometimes within days or even hours. They have been used in the cattle industry to identify individual cows and to ensure stray cattle do not get stolen by thieves. These electronic chips can also be inserted into humans to aid the medical industry by storing all of a patient’s medical history. However, when does human electronic monitoring cross the line into becoming a true invasion of privacy? In Indonesia, lawmakers and activists are in a heated debate concerning a bill that would allow certain HIV/AIDS patients to be monitored with implanted microchips.

There is no denying that AIDS is a global epidemic. There are countries, however, like Indonesia where HIV rates are skyrocketing at an alarming rate. With close to 235 million people, there are upwards of 300,000 that have been infected with HIV. Two extremely strong reasons for the growing rates are the problems with prostitution and drug use. One of the country’s poorest regions, Papua, has been devastated with AIDS/HIV cases. Of the two million people living in this province, nearly 61 people out of every 100,000 have been afflicted with HIV/AIDS. To put this in perspective, that is almost 15 times the already high national average. AIDS activists and researchers have chalked up the alarming rates of HIV to the fact that many people are not educated about sexually transmitted diseases.

In an attempt to efficiently monitor and track the virus, legislators like John Manangsang wish to implant mini electronic chips underneath the skin of those patients that could be deemed “sexually aggressive.” These lawmakers feel that by doing so, the government and police could identify and track those patients who infect others knowingly by punishing them with large fines and or jail time. AIDS activists feel that this new law would be “abhorrent.” One local activist, Tahi Ganyang Butarbutar, states, “People with AIDS aren’t animals; we have to respect their rights.” On the other hand, those who support the bill, like legislator Weynand Watari state, “The health situation is extraordinary, so we have to take extraordinary action.”

Many feel that this monitoring bill will easily pass through legislation once the technicalities and practicalities have been addressed. Legislators are wasting no time in this motion as many have stated that they plan to move forward with committee action by next month. While the lawmakers are still not clear on who will head or reside on this committee and how monitoring would actually take place, those who do decide to join this newly formed committee will be in charge of choosing which patients will get implanted with the electronic chips and monitoring their behavior. No official word yet on how many patients will get implanted or which patients fit into the category of “sexually aggressive.”

There are many who strongly oppose the legislation, including Nancy Fee, the country’s coordinator for UNAIDS. She states, “No one should be subject to unlawful or unnecessary interference of privacy.” She goes on to add that many countries have attempted similar oppressive policies and they have always ended in failure. AIDS activist, Tahi Ganyang, feels that instead of wasting money and energy to monitor patients, the government should spend more of their resources on educating the population about sexually transmitted diseases and the use of condoms.