Allow me to congratulate all the co-organizers of this workshop for providing, under the auspices of the World Youth Foundation, this important forum for young people to meet, discuss and share ideas about possible ways of preventing, controlling and curbing the HIV/AIDS menace. My personal appreciation goes to none other than the Chairman of the World Youth Foundation, the Rt. Hon . Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam, for his energy and dynamism in organizing and spearheading this workshop. For the information of our participants, the Rt. Hon . Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam is also the Chief Minister of Melaka, the historical state where this programme is now being held. To YAB Datuk Seri, please accept my sincere thanks and allow me express my gratitude in a poem adapted from a Malay pantun:

Sweet pretty maiden throws a net,
Straight to the sea flies a hornet;
Your kindness Datuk we will not forget,
Melaka where our hearts are always set.

To our speakers and participants from abroad, let me bid you a warm welcome, “ Selamat Datang ”, to Malaysia. I hope you will enjoy your stay with us.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As we all aware, HIV/AIDS is a disastrous disease that has hit mankind. All over the world, millions have fallen victims to this scourge - men and women, parents and children, husbands and wives, black and white, rich an poor. HIV/AIDS does not discriminate among its victims.

By the end of December 2002, according to the “AIDS Epidemic Update “,there are close to 42 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the world;3.2 million of them children below the age of 15 years. Among the 38.6 million adults living with HIV/AIDS,49.7% are women. In 2002 itself, 5 million people in the world were newly infected with the virus, and 3.1 million people died from the disease. The overwhelming majority of people living with HIV/AIDS are in the developing countries among people in their most productive years, i.e. among the 15-49 years old.

In Asia and the Pacific, 7.2 million people are now living with HIV/AIDS. The growth of the epidemic in this region, according to UNDAIDS, is largely due to the growing epidemic in China, where a million people are now living with HIV/AIDS.A considerable potential for growth also exists in India where almost 4 million people are living with HIV/AIDS.

In Malaysia, the HIV/AIDS epidemic is 17 years old. Up to December 2002, a total of 51,256 HIV cases have been reported, out of which 7,218 are AAIDS cases and 5,424 had died. There are therefore close to 46,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in the country presently. By gender, men still represent the majority of the reported HIV cases (94%). by age group,82% of the cases are people in their prime of life, between 13 to 39 years of age.

Presently, most of our reported cases (76.3%) have been among injecting drug users. But what is worrying to us is that the heterosexual route of transmission has increased from 14% of reported cases in 2001 to 17.5% in 2002.The number of infected women has also increased from 7.8% in 2001 to 9.0% in 2002.Only 20% of our HIV positive women were infected through injecting drugs, while 64% acquired the virus through unsafe, heterosexual relationships. This underscores the special risk that women face because of men’s reluctance to use condoms and women’s lack of power to determine their own sexual relationships and negotiate for safe sex.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In the absence of a cure or vaccine, the burden from HIV/AIDS poses a major socio-economic and development threat to most countries, with implications far beyond the health sector. That is why today many people are saying that AIDS is a social disease rather than a clinical one. Although this statement may sound misleading, it is important for us to seriously ponder about it.

The serious impacts of HIV/AIDS in the worst-affected countries have been well-documented. These include a dramatic reduction in productivity and human capital due to debility and decimation of the workforce; exorbitant healthcare and social welfare expenditures; degradation of education due to loss of school teachers and reduced funding; deprivation and reduced survival among children due to loss of family breadwinners and carers; disintegration of traditional support systems and social safety nets; and, of course, stigma and discrimination against HIV/AIDS victims and their families.

I have said in my message to you in your programme book, stigma in relation to HIV/AIDS comes mostly from ignorance, fear and hostility about the disease or the population affected by the disease. When stigmatization turns into action, it becomes discrimination. In many parts of the world, stigmatization and discrimination against HIV/AIDS victims are quite widespread, fuelling anxiety and prejudice against the affected people. Affected children are discriminated at schools and hospitals. HIV/AIDS patients are denied social groupings and are ostracized from society. Stigma and discrimination prevent individuals from seeking treatment for IDS or from acknowledging their HIV status publicly. Once again, due to gender norms, HIV-infected women face greater disgrace and rejection than men.

According to the AIDS Epidemic Update of December 2002, “HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination rank among the biggest-and most pervasive-barriers to effective responses to the AIDS epidemic. Stigma and discrimination target and harm those who are least able to enjoy their human rights: the poorest, the least educated, and the most marginalized. In fact, stigma, discrimination, and human rights violations from a vicious cycle, generating, reinforcing and perpetuating each other. The outcome, in a world of AIDS, is life-threatening. Stigma and discrimination increase people’s vulnerability and, by isolating people and depriving them of treatment, care and support, worsen the impact of infection. This is why the 2002-2003 World AIDS Campaign is aimed t spurring worldwide efforts to remove the barriers of stigma and discrimination….with slogan, “Live and let live”.

The World Aids Day 2002 Advocacy Kit has this to say, “Some societies are openly unwilling to accept people with HIV/AIDS. An extreme case was that of South African Guru Dhlamini, who was stoned and beaten to death by neighbours in Durban after she spoke publicly about being HIV positive in 1998.”I understand that in some societies, HIV/AIDS patients are immediately linked to the contemporaries of Lot, whose story is narrated in the bible (Genesis, Chapter 19) and the Holy Qur’an (Surah al-A’raf). People need to understand that not all HIV/AIDS cases are linked to unhealthy sexual activities and drug abuse.

Our Honourable Prime Minister, in one of his writings entitled “Improving Tolerance through Understanding”, wrote,” Sometimes we relate the story of the four blind men and the elephant. We are quite amused with the different impressions of the elephant the four blind men have after they have felt different parts of the animal. In fact, even among those sighted, there can be glaring differences in their perceptions of anything they see”.

In this context, I can say with sufficient justification that the public awareness and health education campaigns carried out tirelessly by our Ministry of Health, other governmental agencies, professional bodies and non -governmental organizations over the years have been largely successful in dispelling ignorance and correcting wrong perceptions of HIV/AIDS. As a result, although HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination are probably universal, no serious acts of stigmatization or discrimination have been reported in this country.

As many of you are probably aware, in Malaysia we have the Prostar Programme, or "Staying Healthy without AIDS Programme", which trains youths (between the ages of 13 - 25) as facilitators for various educational activities and programs for other youths. The Prostar Programme has been very successful. By 2002, we have recruited more than 50, 000 young facilitators and conducted more than 900 training sessions for them. 740 Prostar clubs have been formed throughout the country and more than 4, 300 educational activities related to HIV/AIDS have been organized, benefiting more than 700, 000 youths.

An evalution that we did in 2000 indicated that Prostar activities have improved the knowledge of, and attitude towards, HIV/AIDS amongst our youths. For example:
While in 1996 only 7% of youths knew that condoms can limit HIV infection, now 80% of youths are aware of it;
In 1996, 75% of youths knew that AIDS can be transmitted through the sharing of needles in drug abuse, now 98% know about it;
In 1996, only 35% knew about mother to child transmission, now the percentage is 97%.

The evaluation also found that Malaysian youths by and large do not stigmatize or discriminate against HIV/AIDS patients, for example, three-quarters of them do not regard AIDS patients as disgusting nor feel any dislike for them. 76% of non-Prostar youths are willing to do volunteer work in support of AAIDS patients while 90% of long-time Prostar members are willing to do so.

In a further attempt to reduce any stigmatization and discrimination against HIV/AIDS victims; indeed, to further improve our support and care for the affected groups, the Ministry of Health has, just 2 weeks ago, given a grant of RM4 million to the Malaysian Aids Council (MAC). This grant will enable the MAC and its 37 NGO-affiliates to expand their services to the various marginalised groups in our fight against the HIV/AIDS menace. Among the activities that would be carried out are outreach programmes, drop-in centres, information and counseling services, referral clinics, social support and even temporary abodes for people living with HIV/AIDS and those at risk of infection. In other words, we are actively reaching out to them through the MAC and its NGO-affiliates. A similar amount of money will be given to the Council each year, over a period of 10 years.

Hopefully, with this additional, new initiative we will improve our coverage of the at-risk groups and effectively curb the growth of the HIV/AIDS scourge in this country. In this context, I must once again commend the World youth Foundation for providing this invaluable platform for participants from the ASEAN region to gather, deliberate and share views about how best to fight the disease and contain its associated stigma and discrimination. Participants will also be able to exchange experiences and best practices in the implementation of youth-friendly HIV/AIDS services in the region.

Ladies and gentlemen,

You are here for a noble purpose and you have a challenging task ahead of you. Let me therefore enthuse you with the inspiring words of Sayiddina 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth pious Caliph of the Muslims after Prophet Muhammad: "Do good with the bereaved ones of others so that good is done to your bereaved ones also" ("Sermons, letters and sayings of Iman Ali",page 551).

On that note, ladies and gentleman, I have pleasure in declaring open the ASEAN Regional Workshop on HIV/AIDS: Addressing Stigma and Discrimination.
Thank you.