Women To Carry Condoms For Protection

The Health Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad on Saturday urged females to carry condoms along with them to protect themselves against HIVdefine infection, as there is a rise in the number of women contracting HIV in the country.

Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad addressed the press after delivering his speech at the International AIDS Memorial Day in the central state of Selangor, "This is not to debase them but to protect them. Women are the first ones to get exploited by their (HIVdefine-positive) partners,"

"But this is just a suggestion, it's up to them." he added.

The International AIDS Memorial Day was celebrated first time in Malaysia publicly (it being a relatively conservative Muslim nation) on Saturday, which was attended by nearly 1,000 people.

According to the report, as many as 745 women were identified as HIV-positive previous year, though there is a slight dip as compared to 2006 (875), but the general trend is that the numbers are on the rise. As for AIDS cases, 193 women were diagnosed with the AIDS syndrome last year.

Prof Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman, President of Malaysian AIDS Council said that besides sex workers, many homemakers contracted HIV infection unknowingly from their husbands who could be drug abusers.

She added further, “It’s not that people don’t know that condoms can protect them. But there are some men who do not care to take the precaution even though they know they have HIV.”

Approximately 81,000 people living in Malaysia have been infected with the deadly infection and only 10 percent of them are females, but the number is increasing steadily, officials reported. Unlike the case for men, the main risk for Malaysian women is through unprotected sex, either from a regular sex partner or from multiple partners.

Previous studies showed that last year alone, three people died of AIDS each day in Malaysia.

According to the official statistics, Malays recorded the largest number of HIV sufferers at 58,267 in total, followed by Chinese (11,886), Indians (6,532) and foreigners (2,722).

“One reason why Malays are the highest (recorded) is because of our large population. But it’s also because of the high number of injecting drug users.I urge the Malay leaders and the Malay non-governmental organisations to come forward to champion this cause,” Dr Abdul Latiff said.

HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus and AIDS or Aids stands for Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome. The vast majority of the 40 million cases of HIV and AIDS globally, are in developing countries -- 30 million in Sub Saharan Africa and 6 million in South and South east Asia. The overwhelming majority of these sufferers don't yet have access to lifesaving antiviral drugs.

HIV remains a challenge, even in the developing world as despite public health campaigns, unprotected sex still gives HIV the opportunity to spread.