PETALING JAYA: The increasing number of new HIV cases among tertiary students is alarming, says Malaysian Medical Association president Dr Azizan Abdul Aziz (pic).
She said the trend showed current preventive measures were insufficient.
“This is a public health issue that demands immediate and coordinated action consisting of comprehensive sexual health education, increased awareness and access to preventive measures.
“It also underscores the importance of targeted public health initiatives,” she said, stressing the need to address factors such as education gaps, lack of awareness and inadequate access to preventive resources such as condoms and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP).
Dr Azizan also emphasised the role of parenting as part of preventive efforts.
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She called for inclusive, accurate, and readily available sexual health education to be prioritised.
“Comprehensive education should cover safe sex practices, the importance of regular testing, and the reduction of the stigma associated with HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
“Educating students about it yields long-term benefits that influence their behaviour and health choices well into adulthood,” she added.
She also urged enhanced collaboration between healthcare providers, educational institutions, and community organisations to ensure students have simple access to confidential testing and counselling services.
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“Creating a supportive environment where students feel safe to seek help and information is essential in combating the spread of HIV,” she said.
Yesterday, the Dewan Rakyat was told that there had been an increase in new HIV cases among students aged 18 to 25 in public and private higher education institutions.
The Higher Education Ministry, citing figures from the Health Ministry, said there were 214 HIV cases involving tertiary students in 2020, followed by a slight reduction to 186 cases in 2021.
However, the number went up to 221 cases in 2022 and 244 cases last year, said the Higher Education Ministry in a written reply dated July 2.
“The percentage of students from public and private higher education learning institutions (infected with HIV) is between 6.7% and 7.6% of the total number of new HIV cases identified in the years mentioned,” it added.
This means there was an increase of about 15% in 2022 and about a 10% increase in 2023.
The ministry said through public universities, it has planned and implemented various programmes in advocacy, awareness and prevention in relation to HIV.
“We are always aware and concerned about the wellbeing of students, including issues involving health and diseases,” it added.
The ministry also said that from 2022 until June this year, it held 77 advocacy, awareness and prevention programmes on HIV, involving 22,905 public university students.
It was responding to Datuk Azman Nasrudin (PN-Padang Serai), who had asked about figures of tertiary students who were infected with HIV from 2020 until now.
Both the Malaysian AIDS Foundation (MAF) and Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC) said the increasing number of HIV cases was not unique to those in the tertiary education age group.
Their executive director Jasmin Jalil said Malaysia is currently facing a rise in the sexual transmission of HIV, which predominantly affects the young population.
He said stigma remained the biggest barrier for the younger generation in seeking help if affected or at risk of HIV.
“This comes despite progress made in HIV science that includes PrEP, which effectively prevents sexual transmission of HIV,” he said.
Jasmin added that the MAF and MAC were working closely with the Health Ministry to provide high-impact HIV services, including PrEP and self-tests, to anyone at risk.
“Through partner organisations, we are also working with both private and government higher education institutions to conduct comprehensive HIV awareness programmes.
“This helps educate young people about HIV prevention and reduces the stigma associated with it,” he said.
Jasmin also said their outreach efforts were focused on encouraging young people to regularly test for HIV so they know their status.
Public health medicine specialist Prof Dr Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh pointed out that HIV screenings were done in marriage counselling but not at education institutions.
“Certain high-risk schools may implement screenings, but this can lead to stigma among students.
“Hence, self-reporting or self-referrals can be done. School counsellors also need to be aware of the issue,” said Dr Sharifa, who is with Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
To prevent the stigma that may come with mass health screenings in schools, she instead proposed testing high-risk groups through discreet information sharing.
“This may include students and trusted groups, including school counsellors,” she added.
Dr Sharifa also said more attention and risk reduction measures were needed to detect and prevent HIV.
According to the Health Ministry, its latest figures showed that there were an estimated 69,589 people living with HIV as of 2022.
Last year, Deputy Health Minister Lukanisman Awang Sauni said there were 3,177 new HIV cases last year, with about 77% of them involving youth aged between 20 and 39 and 90% of them being men.
He said the figures showed that exposure to HIV infections began in school, and about 97% of the cases were due to sex.
