The number of people living with HIV/AIDS in Malaysia is steadily rising. According to the Ministry of Health, as of June of 2004, there have been a cumulative total of 60,621 HIV-positive cases that have been reported.

Despite the escalating figures, “there are only approximately 25 doctors dedicated to treating the disease,” said Dr Christopher Lee, Infectious Diseases Specialist and President of the Malaysian Society of HIV Medicine (MASHM).

At MSD Malaysia, we are working hard to help those affected by the epidemic. Apart from increasing the affordability of our HIV medicines, we have been sharing resources and expertise with the Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC) and the Malaysian Society of HIV Medicine (MASHM) to increase access to treatment, education, care and prevention.

One of the programs that have been gaining momentum is the ‘It Begins With You’ campaign, a HIV/AIDS awareness and education program for medical students implemented in 2005 to provide medical updates in treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS in the hope that the students will be encouraged to make a difference as future doctors of the country.

“At the core of ‘It Begins With You’ is the goal to empower the individual – both the individual that treats and the one who receives treatment – with the knowledge that will allow them to make well-informed choices,” said Ewe Kheng Huat, Managing Director of MSD.

MSD Malaysia joined forces with MAC and MASHM to renew its commitment to It Begins With You in 2006 with 200 medical students from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and International Medical University (IMU). The program provided more comprehensive updates compared to the previous year.

Dr Benedict Sim, Joe Selvaretnam, Programme  Director of MAC, and Kiren, a representative of the Kuala Lumpur AIDS Support Services, got involved by sharing their experience in addressing the HIV/AIDS situation in the country. Celina and Rafidah from the popular TV series 3R were also present to lend their support.

Published as a not-for-profit service to the community,To further reinforce the need and support of graduating doctors to help treat and manage HIV/AIDS patients in the country, a video competition was held for the students of UPM and IMU. Students were asked to create a short film to highlight the importance of their role as medical students in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

The winner of the RM1,500 prize for Best Video went to the team headed by Kenneth Teow. Their video, entitled, ‘AIDS – It Does Not Discriminate’ warns that the virus can strike regardless of race, gender or lifestyle.

 

Teh Wee Min, whose team won Most Creative Message Award, said, “We need to dispel the negative perceptions around HIV/AIDS through education and awareness.” His team’s video featured absolutely no dialogue, showing instead shots of student hands crushing papers written with terms such as ‘Discrimination’ and ‘Stigma’ while opening up papers written ‘Acceptance’ and ‘Education’.

“In the five years taken for a first year medical student to graduate, 36,500 people would be newly infected by the virus,” said Joe Selvaretnam. Indeed, doctors and future doctors are faced with a grim challenge.

Professor Ong Kok Hai, Dean of Student Affairs at IMU, concluded that, “such is the magnitude and consequence of the HIV/AIDS issue that it requires us to fight on all fronts. We all have our own roles to play.”

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