Sarawak developing HIV programs with UN support

KUCHING: The Sarawak Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Ministry will work with related government agencies, non governmental organisations, community leaders and religious leaders to come up with the Sarawak approach to combating the spread of HIV.
Its minister, Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah, said although the HIV situation in Sarawak was under control, its transmission through sexual relations remained a challenge.
“The state government approach is in line with the Sarawak AIDS Concern Society (SACS) initiative, which is to prevent new HIV infections, eliminate stigmatisation or discrimination, provide peer support, promote and protect the rights of people living with HIV,” she said.
Fatimah said this during her courtesy call with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV (Unaids) regional director Eamon Murphy in Bangkok, Thailand recently.
During the visit, she was briefed on the HIV scenario in the Asia Pacific region and how Malaysia and, in particular Sarawak, could improve in terms of prevention, treatment and support for people living with HIV.
In order to tackle this issue, she said, it was important for various agencies to collaborate and create a holistic approach for the prevention and to encourage screening and treatment.
She also stressed on the need for a pragmatic approach to tackle the issue and reduce the stigma that plagued many who suffered from the illness.
Meanwhile Eamon, together with his team leaders, briefed Fatimah and her delegation regarding the HIV statistics of Malaysia in comparison to other countries in the region.
He highlighted some of the success stories of Malaysia besides citing examples and insight into prevention strategies employed around the region that could be adopted to effectively prevent the spread of HIV.
He also talked about the roles of religious leaders and interfaith groups to create awareness in the meeting, stressing on the importance of getting the message across to the younger generation through social media. — Bernama