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"EDITORIAL: Fighting the
HIV epidemic"
New
Straits Times (www.nst.com.my)
(15/06/05)
MALAYSIA has to stop the quibbling and come to terms with the threat of HIV,
in the wake of the revelation by the World Health Organisation that the
country is on the verge of an epidemic. Nitpicking over how to deal with the
spread of this virus, which causes AIDS, will only distract us from fighting
a scourge that, at a conservative estimate, has afflicted 65,000 people
since 1996. Action — real concerted engagement by all parties focused on a
common enemy — is what's needed. It has been proven in Thailand that a
well-funded, politically-supported and pragmatic approach can change the
course of the HIV epidemic. The Thai experience shows even more dramatically
the effect that concerted action by the Government, non-governmental
organisations, the media, and communities can have on the prevalence of HIV
infection.
The
effort there to promote safe behaviour, such as condom use, has produced
results in just a few years. National surveys were also regularly conducted
to monitor patterns and behaviour. And this knowledge helps reinforce a
campaign of intensive and extensive preventive measures in multiple sectors
of society.
The
same kind of integrated approach has been successful in some African
countries, such as Uganda, where the rate of new HIV infections has declined
over the years. It has been reported that people at all levels of society —
political, community, and religious leaders — have been involved in the
campaign to halt AIDS in Uganda, and it has made a major impact on the
epidemic in that country. Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek has rightly
described the WHO finding as a challenge for all Malaysians to find a way to
stop the spread of HIV. The minister himself has come under criticism for
his suggestion that condoms and clean needles be distributed to drug users
to help decrease the spread of infection among them. Indeed studies have
indicated that the majority of HIV and AIDS cases in the country are drug
injectors. A study carried out in Penang has also found that 17 per cent of
drug injectors who agreed to testing were HIV-positive. It is possible,
though, that other factors contributing to the epidemic are being missed,
such as casual sex and whether there is enough surveillance of sex workers.
Thailand has conducted several rounds of a national survey on sexually risky
behaviour and it was found that the level of such behaviour among some of
its people was strikingly high. Like the radical proposal by Dr Chua, the
objective of such measures is to save people from a threat that shows no
sign of abatement.
If
nothing is done to curb the spread of the disease, the number of Malaysians
with HIV will likely rise to 300,000 within 10 years. Unfortunately, there
is, in Malaysia particularly, sometimes an unavoidable moral and religious
aspect to the issue of HIV prevention. But the bottom line is, what do we
really want? The answer is obvious. Continuing to be in denial is not a
solution to this growing problem.
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