More women getting infected with HIV/AIDS

Star: PUTRAJAYA: The gap between women and men infected with HIV/AIDS has narrowed drastically with one female victim now for every 15 male victims.
Ten years ago, there was just one woman to 80 male patients, according to the Malaysian AIDS Council records.
This surge in the number of HIV-positive women was a cause for concern, said council president Prof Adeeba Kamarulzaman.
She said a large majority of the women were not infected as a result of “their own action” but by their partners.
“It is sad that awareness of the disease is still lacking but we are doing our best to feed them with information so that they can take precautions.
“The awareness is particularly important among younger Malaysians,” she said after the flagging-off of the Riding for Life campaign yesterday.
The campaign saw 150 cyclists, including 11 HIV-positive individuals, riding from the administrative capital to Malacca to raise funds and public awareness on the disease in conjunction with World AIDS Day yesterday.
Adeeba said the event was aimed at collecting RM250,000 in donations for the Circle of Hope campaign, to be channelled to the Children’s AIDS Fund as well as to finance medical schemes and provide business aid to members.
“The disease does not choose its victims. If we are responsible and practise safe sex all the time, we can prevent infection.
“However, it is sad that some women get infected because their partners are promiscuous and irresponsible,” she said.