KUALA LUMPUR, August 7 — A total of 3,185 new HIV cases were reported in Malaysia in 2024, with men accounting for 90 per cent of infections, the Ministry of Health (MOH) told Parliament.
Three-quarters of these cases involved individuals aged between 20 and 39 — a group considered at higher risk due to behavioural and social factors — and nearly all transmissions occurred through sexual contact.
“HIV transmission in Malaysia has changed from primarily needle-sharing among people who use drugs to predominantly sexual transmission,” Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said in a written Dewan Rakyat reply to Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai yesterday.
“In 2024, 96 per cent of reported HIV infections were transmitted sexually, with 32 per cent via heterosexual contact and 64 per cent via homosexual or bisexual contact.”
Dzulkefly added that 90 per cent of new HIV cases involved men and 10 per cent involved women, compared to the 1990s when 99 per cent of cases were among men and only one per cent among women.
While the total number of new HIV/AIDS infections declined by 50 per cent between 2000 and 2009, Dzulkefly noted that the pace of decline has slowed. Between 2010 and 2024, the reduction was only 27 per cent.
The latest figures underscore the urgent need for effective, community-based interventions, particularly those that reach young men, to promote early testing, treatment, and harm reduction.
Last month, Kelantan-based HIV NGO Sahabat came under national scrutiny after police raided one of its outreach programmes in Kota Bharu.
The event — which included HIV/STI education sessions, free screening, and MOH referrals — was later clarified as part of a public health initiative supported by local health authorities. The incident has raised concern among health advocates who warned that punitive enforcement could damage trust and reduce access to services for at-risk groups.
Malaysia’s national HIV response has long depended on collaboration with community-based organisations to reach key populations. Efforts to curb transmission among young men, particularly those disconnected from traditional health systems, remain central to meeting the country’s goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
