PETALING JAYA: Malaysia recorded 3,185 new HIV cases in 2024, with a notification rate of 9.4 per 100,000 population.
The vast majority involved young men, with sexual transmission now the primary mode of infection.
In a parliamentary response to Tan Kok Wai (Cheras), the Health Ministry revealed that men accounted for 90% of the newly reported cases, while women made up the remaining 10%. This represents a shift from the 1990s, when women represented just 1% of cases.
The majority of new infections – 75% – were among individuals aged 20 to 39, highlighting a concerning trend of rising cases among Malaysian youth.
Although Malaysia saw a 50% drop in new HIV/AIDS infections between 2000 and 2009, the rate of decline has slowed significantly in the past decade, with only a 27% reduction recorded from 2010 to 2024.
The pattern of HIV transmission has shifted dramatically. Where infections were once largely due to needle sharing among drug users, they are now overwhelmingly the result of sexual transmission, which accounted for 96% of cases in 2024.
Of those, 64% were transmitted through homosexual or bisexual contact, while 32% were attributed to heterosexual transmission.
The ministry said it continues to monitor these trends and implement targeted interventions to curb the spread of HIV.
