Team up to combat AIDS, says Najib

NST: KUALA LUMPUR: Professional bodies and non-governmental organisations must work together to bring an end to the spread of HIV and AIDS.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said that although there had been a decline in the number of reported HIV/AIDS cases from 6,756 in 2003 to 5,830 last year, this had been negated by an increase in cases among women in the last 10 years.
"This is a worrying trend that needs serious attention, as during that period, the number of infected women rose from four to 15 per cent," he said.
His speech was read out by Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek at the opening of the National AIDS Conference 2007 and commemoration of World AIDS Day here yesterday.
Najib also said a concerted effort was needed from the various parties involved to work together through the National Strategic Plan (NSP).
He said HIV infections through sex had increased dramatically in the past five years from 18.2 per cent to 31.9 per cent.
The NSP, introduced last year, is a long-term plan with six major strategies which include reducing vulnerability to infection among women, youths and children.
Najib said that based on projections, the government expected some 300,000 Malaysians to be infected with HIV if no concrete action was taken to handle the problem within the next eight years.
He added that some actions which had been taken by the government such as the needle and syringe exchange programme (NSEP) and Methadone maintenance treatment programme (MMT) had already proven effective, and would be extended to drug rehabilitation centres as well as prisons.
The NSEP programme was recently introduced in Alor Star, after achieving success in Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru, Penang, Kuantan and Kota Baru.
The MMT programme, he said achieved a retention rate of 75.11 per cent, exceeding the World Health Organisation (WHO) by between 55 per cent and 60 per cent.
To help realise the NSP, Najib said RM500 million had been allocated by the government.
This amount would help 15,000 drug addicts in the NSEP and another 25,000 in the MMT programmes, he added.
He said imam, religious teachers and officers as well as others should play a role in informing Muslims about the dangers of the disease. He said a special module would be available to them to educate the public.