One of the hardest things to obtain when working on HIV in Malaysia has got to be the national and state statistics. The yearly Quest to obtain these sets of critical data is sometimes akin to questing for the Holy Grail with philosophical questions being asked by the Sacred Keepers and the need to show that you are worthy.Anyway, I've decided that in the future, wherever I get hold of these statistics, I'm just going to post them here for everyone's benefit. I've also done some analysis of the data which will be used in a series of special reports particularly on the issue of women and HIV in Malaysia. These I will share as much as I can.
The statistics for the country and indeed the data depended upon by policy makers to justify interventions are simply put, inadequate.I believe that we are currently mapping out the drug user HIV epidemic as opposed to the general population. The response to drug use, though essential and critical, should not be the only response to HIV.
The bulk of the resources allocated to combat this disease is tied up in activities related to HIV prevention among drug users. Other interventions such as those relating to heterosexual transmissions are mostly education campaigns which don't even really talk about sex to begin with..
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