Women Making a Difference

Dr. Nafsiah Mboi Combats Gender Inequity and HIV/AIDS in Indonesia

		NAC Secretary revitalizes the country's national HIV response, advocates for more resources.
Dr. Nafsiah Mboi, Secretary of Indonesia's National AIDS Commission Source: CEDPA

As Dr. Nafsiah Mboi tackles the challenge of stemming the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Indonesia, she is grappling with not only the vastness of the country, which consists of more than 17,000 far-flung islands, but also the low status of women, which impairs their ability to prevent AIDS.

As Secretary of the National AIDS Commission (NAC) in Indonesia, Dr. Mboi is working to overturn the stigma associated with those affected by the epidemic, particularly injecting drug users, sex workers, and men who have sex with men. She also is engaged in overcoming the gender inequity that has increased women's vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, speaking both nationally and internationally. Women are at risk because they lack the status to negotiate condom use with their partners, and a poor economy has driven many poor women to prostitution.

Dr. Mboi first became aware of the impact of gender inequality in 1982, when she participated in a supervision and evaluation workshop in Washington, DC, sponsored by the USAID-funded organization CEDPA. She remembers that "the whole concept of gender was new to us."

At the time, she was a pediatrician and a governor's wife and in charge of the women's organizations in Indonesia's Nusa Tenggara Timur Province. She was in a position to put new gender and management approaches into practice. Later, as director of Gender and Women's Health at the World Health Organization in the late 1990s, she catalyzed efforts to formulate a gender and health policy.

As she thinks about gender challenges to slowing the spread of HIV, she has quoted the philosopher Goethe's words: "Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do."

Now she is in the position to do just that. Since her appointment as Secretary of NAC in July 2006, Dr. Mboi has revitalized the role of the commission, which is not an easy feat in a country where decentralization has put key health policy decisions in the hands of local provincial authorities. Due in large part to her efforts, NAC has become a leader in Indonesia's response to the epidemic.

Under Dr. Mboi's direction, NAC developed a new National Strategic Action Plan (2007–2010). Dr. Mboi then turned to the USAID | Health Policy Initiative, requesting assistance in estimating the resource needs of NAC's new action plan. The project worked closely with NAC's costing team to help them customize the Resource Needs Model. The action plan became a highly effective advocacy tool for mobilizing resources and guiding program implementation. Dr. Mboi has presented the results of the analysis at national meetings to advocate for increased resources for HIV/AIDS.

In her role, Dr. Mboi occasionally finds herself a lone voice, particularly on gender issues, but she sees positive signs of change and greater understanding among the younger generations. Yet, she believes that "we need more women leaders in the fight against HIV/AIDS." Reflecting on the progress that has been made and the challenges that lie ahead, Dr. Mboi sees that the future for women's leadership lies in programs like those funded by USAID. "We need more programs like this in our region."

Story provided by CEDPA and Constella Futures under the Health Policy Initiative, Task Order 1

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