PETALING JAYA: The number of HIV infections are increasing among tertiary students aged between 18 to 25, according to Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir.
Speaking at the Dewan Rakyat today, he said 214 students in public or private higher education institutions were infected with HIV in 2020 with a slight decline to 186 in 2021, but increased again to 221 in 2022 and 224 in 2023.
“The percentage of students from public or private higher education institutions infected with HIV ranged between 6.7% and 7.6% of the total number of new HIV cases identified in the years mentioned,“ he said.
Zambry said the ministry conducted 77 HIV advocacy, awareness, and prevention programmes, engaging 22,905 public university students from 2022 to June this year, to foster a healthy lifestyle and focus on HIV advocacy, awareness and prevention.
The ministry also emphasised its commitment to student wellbeing, particularly concerning health and disease prevention.
Zambry’s response came after Datuk Azman Nasrudin (PN-Padang Serai) had asked the minister to state the number of students in higher education institutions who were infected with HIV from 2020 to date.
