ON a flawless day in Bali, tourists are revelling in sun and surf and padding about plush hotels. Beneath the highly developed tourism industry a deepening health crisis is gripping the island.

Encapsulating the trend is a tiny Balinese girl whose unfocused gaze indicates her poor state of health. Asih, two, is pale and listless as she wanders about her home of the past year, Anak Anak Bali orphanage, or Bali Kids, in Kerobokan. Asih is having trouble fighting off a common cold. She is HIV positive and has tuberculosis, preventing her immune system from kicking in quickly.

This is the beginning of an article that appeared in The Australian last weekend, written by Deborah Cassrels - a journalist who often writes about Bali and Lombok.  The full article can be seen here. 

It is a challenge to get  accurate statistics of this epidemic, and in her article Deborah says

Meanwhile, the latest HIV screening study in March by the Bali Health Department reveals Bali has the second highest infection rate in Indonesia behind Jakarta and the island's young are most vulnerable, with those in the 20 to 29 age range peaking at 46 per cent. Sexually active teenagers between 15 and 19 account for 2.3 per cent of HIV.

But a recent article in the Jakarta Post says:

Papua, with the second highest number of HIV/AIDS infections, has an infection rate of almost 61 per 100,000, which is 15 times the national average, according to internationally funded research, which blames lack of knowledge about sexually transmitted diseases for the spread of the virus.

and then a bit later, adds:

Meanwhile in Bali, ranked third by incidence of HIV/AIDS cases in Indonesia, the number of deaths related to HIV/AIDS has also been steadily increasing year on year, with 72 people recorded as having died from HIV/AIDS-related complications already this year.

You can find the Jakarta Post article here.