Therapy for more folks

Star: SUBANG JAYA: The needle/syringe exchange and condom programme will be extended to the entire country by 2010 under the Government’s harm reduction strategies to prevent HIV/ AIDS.
Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said methadone replacement therapy and anti-retroviral treatment would also be expanded to include more people.
The Health Minister said the needle/syringe exchange and condom pilot project which started last year with 1,200 participants in Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru and Penang was a success, and as such it would be extended under the National Strategic Plan for HIV.
“The aim is to have 2,000 people involved by 2010 with each state having a centre for treatment. This will cost RM45mil,” he told reporters after opening the joint forum incorporating the Consultation on Integrating Prevention and Management of STI/HIV/AIDS into Reproductive, Maternal and Newborn Health Services, and the 6th Asia-Pacific UN PMTCT Task Force Meeting.
The therapy which was also implemented last year involved 1,240 drug addicts, and the second phase of this programme should have 5,000 addicts by next year, Dr Chua added.
“Most encouragingly, we see an excellent retention rate of 85%. Of these, 73% have found jobs. Our plan is to cover between 15,000 and 20,000 cases by 2010,” he said, adding that this would cost RM140mil over the next five years.
On anti-retroviral drugs, Dr Chua said Malaysia was committed to the World Health Organisation initiative to ensure that the three million HIV/AIDS sufferers in the world have access to anti-retroviral treatment.
In Malaysia, he said, the aim was to put 5,000 patients on highly active anti-retroviral therapy by the end of this year.
“Since we started using the locally-made 3-in-1 medicine, we have been able to reduce treatment cost from RM2,200 to RM150 per patient a month. With the cost reduction, we are confident of reaching out to almost 15,000 people in the next five years,” he said.
The Cabinet, Dr Chua said, had approved an additional RM100mil for the country’s HIV/AIDS prevention programme, making the total cost a staggering RM500mil for the next five years.
He also said that Malaysia was among countries with a “concentrated” HIV epidemic, with the positivity rate among antenatal mothers being less than 0.1%, and more than 5% among drug users.
The epidemic in Malaysia began largely with high-risk behaviours such as intravenous drug use and visiting sex workers, he said.