MAC concerned with increase in women down with HIV

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KOTA BAHARU: The Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC) is concerned with the increase of almost ten-folds in the percentage of women infected by HIV since the past decade.

Its president, Datuk Dr Raj Karim, said the latest statistics showed that 9,494 women were down with HIV and the number made up almost 10 per cent of the HIV cumulative cases in the country.

This situation happened due to lack of knowledge and awareness among women on the spread of the virus, she said when opening a business workshop carried out under the Our Family’s Safety Our Responsibility Crime Prevention Programme (SEKATA) here yesterday.

She said the spread of HIV among women was feared to adversely affect the family institution as they played an important role in uniting the family.

She said there was also a changing trend in the spread of HIV and AIDS where it was penetrating the domestic environment, instead of drug addicts and those engaged in free sex.

The society, she said, should help curb the spread of the disease by working with government agencies and non-governmental organisations to carry out activities for the targetted group. — Bernama