Lawmakers in Indonesia’s Papua province worked to pass a bill that would require HIV/AIDS patients to be implanted with a microchip for monitoring, in an attempt to prevent them infecting others.

Under the bylaw, which was a controversial one, patients with an “active sexual behaviour” could be implanted with a microchip to monitor their activity, lawmakers said. The proposal was highly condemned by human rights activist, HIV sufferers as well as health and HIV/AIDS experts.

Legislator John Manangsang said implanting the chip beneath the skin of people who had shown “actively sexual behaviour” would allow authorities to better identify, track and punish those who deliberately infect others. The punishment would be up to six months in jail or a $5,000 fine. He said the local parliament was expected to introduce the legislation in Papua by the end of this month. “It's a simple technology. A signal from the microchip will track their movements and this will be received by monitoring authorities,” John Manangsang was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Constan Karma, the head of Papua’s National AIDS Commission said the plan violated human rights, according to the Jakarta Post newspaper. The reaction of Tahi Ganyang Butarbutar, a prominent Papuan activist was even more radical. “People with AIDS aren’t animals; we have to respect their rights,” he said. The best way to deal with the epidemic was through increased spending on sexual education, he suggested. Local health workers and AIDS activists called the plan “abhorrent.” AIDS prevention techniques, such as condoms, circumcision and new drugs are improving, but more effort is needed to reduce the risk of HIV infection.

Dr Nafsiah Mboi, the secretary of Indonesia's National AIDS Commission, says he thinks Papua’s Governor will not approve the bylaw even if the parliament passes it because it is against human rights.

Indonesia has one of the fastest growing HIV rates, with up to 290,000 infections out of 235 million people. Papua has one of the highest HIV rates in Indonesia. According to a government study in 2007, the number of HIV/AIDS cases per 100,000 people in Papua is nearly 15 times the national average in Indonesia. AusAID has projected that by 2025 up to 7 percent of Papuans will have the disease. Poverty, social instability and a lack of government action are some of the factors that contribute to this situation.

About 33 million people worldwide are infected with the virus and 2.7 million new cases were reported in 2007, according to UNAIDS. Over three quarters of these deaths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa, which remains the epicenter of the global malady. Researchers believe the virus originated in this region during the twentieth century.

The majority of HIV infections are acquired through unprotected sexual relationships between partners, one of whom has HIV. Patients with HIV infection have substantially increased incidence of several malignant cancers and tuberculosis. Only male and female condoms can significantly reduce the risk of HIV transmission.