KUALA LUMPUR: There is a concerning rise in the number of HIV infections among tertiary students aged 18 to 25 in Malaysia.
In a written parliamentary reply today, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said, based on notifications of reported cases to the Health Ministry, 214 students in public or private higher education institutions were infected with HIV in 2020.
The numbers decreased slightly in 2021 to 186 individuals, but showed an upward trend in 2022 (221 individuals) and 2023 (224 individuals).
"The percentage of students from public or private higher education institutions infected with HIV ranged between 6.7 per cent and 7.6 per cent of the total number of new HIV cases identified in the years mentioned," he said.
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.
Zambry said his ministry would plan and implement various programmes to foster a healthy lifestyle and focus on HIV advocacy, awareness and prevention.