PEKAN, 20 Dec 2008: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the government will study whether the non-Muslims can be required to undergo HIV screening before they get married to prevent the spread of the disease. He said that for the Muslims, HIV screenings were compulsory as part of the premarital course while the […]
AIDS
Mandatory testing flawed
By Shanon Shah1,000 crosses put up by World Concern, USA, in support of World AIDS Day (© Andrew Conn / sxc.hu) STARTING from 2009, Muslim couples intending to marry must undergo mandatory screening for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). We don’t know how this became official, but it now is, with the cabinet’s approval. Deputy Prime Minister […]
AIDS infection has dropped by half since 2003
KUALA LUMPUR, 18 Dec 2008: The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection rate in the country has dropped by half since 2003, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today. The deputy prime minister said the number of recorded Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) cases had dropped from 6,756 in 2003 to 3,452 this year. “We found that, […]
Task force to tackle women HIV epidemic
PETALING JAYA, 16 Dec 2008: The Health Ministry has set up a task force to study and draw up plans to tackle the HIV epidemic among women in the country. Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said the task force would focus on heterosexual HIV infection besides studying the mechanism and strategies recommended by the World […]
M’sia should adopt Iran’s HIV prevention methods
KUALA LUMPUR, 1 Dec 2008: Malaysia should adopt the HIV prevention methods of Iran as they have been acknowledged to be successful by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Women, Family and Community Development Deputy Minister Noriah Kasnon said Iran had managed to overcome one of the biggest hurdles in HIV prevention in a Muslim country […]
Preventing the spread of HIV
By Kamal Solhaimi FadzilI read with some reservations on the future direction the Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC) plans to take in addressing HIV in Malaysia. Firstly, let me say that Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman, Dr Christopher Lee, Dr Ismail Baba, and many others from various sectors, be it the medical, social sciences, as well as the many volunteers who […]
Rising HIV infection among housewives
By Ng Boon HooiPETALING JAYA, 18 Nov 2008: Although the spread of HIV in Malaysia has largely been among injecting drug users, there is growing concern that heterosexual transmission is on the rise. Most vulnerable to this are housewives. According to data by the Ministry of Health, the number of new reported HIV cases among housewives was 13 […]
