| James Kon |
A TOTAL OF 245 cases of HIV have been recorded among citizens and permanent residents in the country to date, since the first confirmed case of the infection was detected in 1986.
While this figure might not appear large relatively speaking, what is particularly disconcerting is that 152 or 62 per cent these HIV cases were diagnosed from 2014. This is strongly suggestive of a rapid recent increase in the number of people contracting the disease.
Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohammad Isham bin Haji Jaafar revealed the jolting statistics yesterday in his speech as guest of honour at the National HIV Symposium for Health Care Professionals held to mark World AIDS Day 2018. The event was held at the Pengiran Anak Puteri Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah Institute of Health Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD).
At present, 189 people are known to be living with HIV in Brunei, while 56 diagnosed with the disease have died since 1986.
Describing the HIV cases, the minister said, “Males are particularly disproportionately affected by the disease. Our surveillance data from the Ministry of Health (MoH) indicates that people who carry out unsafe sexual practices or have multiple sexual partners, and men who have sex with men (MsMs), are known to be at a higher risk of acquiring HIV.”
He added that in 2016, His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam and other ASEAN leaders signed the ASEAN Declaration of Commitment on HIV and AIDS at the ASEAN Summit in Lao People’s Democratic Republic. The declaration calls for countries in ASEAN to make concerted efforts both at the national and regional level to fast-track and sustain the response to tackling HIV.
In support of the declaration, the minister said that the MoH continues to ensure the provision of free and comprehensive healthcare to all citizens and permanent residents of Brunei Darussalam, in adherence to its principles of universal health coverage, including “all aspects of the prevention, care, treatment and support for HIV”.
“We work closely with our colleagues in other government agencies, and for many years now we have had a very fruitful collaborative partnership with the Brunei Darussalam AIDS Council (BDAIDSCouncil), where we work together in the national fight against HIV,” he said.
Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohammad Isham said that as part of the country’s efforts to implement innovative approaches to handling HIV cases, three measures will be taken from the symposium for consideration.
“Firstly,” the minister highlighted, “as healthcare practitioners, our response to the disease must be driven by evidence. As such, we need more and better data on our affected and high-risk population to ensure that we can reach out to them more effectively. UBD has an important role to play in this respect.”
The second step, the minister said, is to strengthen coverage, reach and quality of HIV care in the country.
“We need to have integrated packages for prevention, testing, treatment, care and support services in HIV. Prevention interventions should be tailored for various key affected populations and leveraged on the principles of Malay Islamic Monarchy (MIB),” he said. “In particular, we should work more closely with our colleagues from the Ministry of Religious Affairs to improve effective programming to achieve and sustain measurable results.”
The last aspect is to expand efforts to provide a supportive environment to reduce stigma and discrimination against key affected populations.
“This stigma leads to social isolation, lowers self-esteem, and damages mental health. No one should have to face it and we all have our part to play in stamping it out,” the minister said. “To do this, we should involve key stakeholders such as other government agencies, community leaders, civil society organisations, and include people living with HIV themselves to identify how best we can go about reducing HIV-related stigma and discrimination.”
Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohammad Isham added that the country must keep up their efforts to stamp out HIV in the country and avoid complacency.
“Our achievements so far give us hope for the future, but we must move forward and not be complacent,” he said. “Across all sectors, we must ensure that all children start their lives free from HIV, all our young people and adults grow up and stay HIV-free, and that treatment becomes more accessible so that everyone stays AIDS-free. Working together, I am confident we can successfully realise our vision of an AIDS-free generation.”
