Indonesian Vice President Boediono said Indonesia should not depend on foreign assistance in handling of HIV/AIDS cases but rely more on local authorities and communities, media reported here on Wednesday.

"We should not keep relying on foreign assistance," he said on Tuesday.The vice president said that regional leaders, including governors, district heads and mayors, should give more attention to the HIV/AIDS problems in their regions.

"Give special attention and earmark more funding and manpower to handle HIV/AIDS in your respective areas," he was quoted by the Jakarta globe as saying.

Boediono also called on the private sector to participate in HIV/AIDS prevention and eradication efforts.

"The way to do this is by including HIV/AIDS prevention and eradication programs in your corporate social responsibility programs. The role of society, including students and youths, is also very crucial at the front line of the battle," he said.

Boediono expressed his appreciation for the initiatives of some government institutions in incorporating prevention and eradication programs and aiming a lot of their programs at youth.

These efforts include the distribution of books containing information on HIV/AIDS prevention, services for prison inmates, and the granting of awards to companies with active prevention and eradication programs at work.

"We need far more initiatives such as these and more institutions and civil society groups to be involved," Boediono said.

The vice president said that efforts should also be focused on trying to break the chain of HIV transmission between mothers and their children.

Indonesia, he said, is already dealing with a "concentrated epidemic" of HIV/AIDS, defined as a prevalence of infection of more than 5 percent among high-risk groups such as commercial sex workers, intravenous drug users and homosexuals.