AIDS in Malaysia
Malaysia is home to one of the fastest growing AIDS epidemics in the East Asia and Pacific region with its current rate of HIV infections doubling every three years. Between the first detected case in 1986 and 2006, 76,389* people have been infected with HIV while 9,155* have died of AIDS. These statistics suggest that an average of 16 people test positive for the virus each day. Malaysia’s epidemic is largely dominated by injecting drug users who make up about 72% of total cases. There is concern however that heterosexual transmission is on the rise. The proportion of women reported with HIV has increased dramatically in the last decade from 4% of new cases in 1995 to 15% of new cases in 2006. Surveys show that in 2006, more housewives tested HIV-positive than sex workers. At the same time, the percentage of babies born with HIV has also increased from 0.2% in 1991 to 1.4% in 2006. As in most parts of the world, young people in Malaysia account for an increasing number of HIV infections every year. December 2006 statistics from the Ministry of Health reveal that 36% of infections are amongst people aged between 13 to 29 years old. It is likely that people infected with HIV before the age of 30 were infected in their twenties and sometimes even during their teens. Gender inequity, stigma, discrimination, silence, denial and ignorance fuel the epidemic in Malaysia. * Source: Ministry of Health, Malaysia
Video HIV/AIDS and Children Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS
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