KUCHING: The federal Health Ministry is creating a more targetted approach to reduce HIV incidences among students of higher education institutions following a revelation that 222 tertiary students in Malaysia were infected last year.
Health Deputy Minister Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauni said the ministry is concerned that among the reported cases, a big number are young people.
“As of April 2025, 44 percent of HIV infected persons in Malaysia are aged between 20 and 29.
“Of great concern too is that in 2024 alone, 222 students in higher education institutes in the country were found infected with HIV.
“There are recorded cases of 1,691 of higher education students in Malaysia infected by HIV since 2021.
“This shows that we need to have more comprehensive and targetted approach aimed at HIV prevention among our youths,“ he said at the Asean Regional Dialogue in Kuching city on “Affordable Antiretroviral Drugs and Promoting Community Based Testing”.
Lukanisman however added that Malaysia has by and large been successful in tackling HIV.
He said his ministry in collaboration with the Malaysian AIDS Foundation and Malaysian AIDS Council has succeeded in notching a decline of new cases nationwide last year as compared to 2023.
“In 2024, the number of new HIV infections reported nationwide was 3,185 cases.
“In 2023, the number of new reported HIV cases nationwide was 6,978.
“So we have seen a reduction of new cases by about half.”
He ascribed the reduction to continous efforts by the ministry, foundation and council to increase awareness and lifestyle-change campaigns among the general public as well as enhancing public access to screening and treatment.
As far as Sarawak is concerned, the statistics showed that HIV cases are mainly found in Kuching, Miri and Sibu.
