Battling stigma against HIV and AIDS

Free Malaysia Today

While many remain fearful of the virus and those affected by it, organisations like Pengasih are working to change mindsets through education and empathy.  Read More:  https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2023/11/01/help-people-with-hiv-lead-normal-lives-urges-ngo/  Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com Follow FMT on Facebook: http://bit.ly/2Rn6xEV Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM Follow FMT on Twitter: http://bit.ly/2OCwH8a  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/2OKJbc6 Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3cpbWKK Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/2VUfOrv Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/3B1e8lN Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/39dBDbe ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Download FMT News App: Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46 App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP  #FMTNews #HIV #AIDS #Healthcare #Pengasih

Transcript

00:00 Beware, AIDS Kills

00:03 AIDS is a killer.

00:05 We've all seen posters worded this way along with grim images.

00:09 With messages as scary as this, it's no wonder many are fearful of HIV and AIDS.

00:15 Now it is true that AIDS, a complication of HIV, is indeed life-threatening.

00:20 But a lot has changed since the world came to know about HIV and AIDS.

00:24 For one, there is a better understanding of the disease and treatment has improved too.

00:29 But for many living with HIV and AIDS, some things haven't changed.

00:33 The stigma of the disease sees them being shunned by society and discriminated against.

00:38 A 2020 health ministry study found that 3 out of 4 Malaysians exhibited some form of

00:43 stigma or discrimination towards people living with HIV.

00:47 Sometimes the discrimination can even come from the group that HIV and AIDS patients

00:51 rely on the most, the healthcare industry.

00:54 Azman Dawood, who has HIV, said he once overheard healthcare workers talking about his illness

01:00 while undergoing thyroid surgery.

01:02 So what can be done to end the discrimination?

01:05 Selangor Pengasih Chairman Jafar Dawood says the key lies in consistent messaging from

01:10 both the public and private sectors.

01:12 This program is only a little bit.

01:18 It's not continuous.

01:21 For example, if you do World AIDS Day, International AIDS Memorial Day, it's one-off.

01:30 So it's not consistent.

01:37 So people easily forget and it doesn't have an impact.

01:42 Pengasih, which was founded and run by former addicts, tackles stigma in one simple yet

01:47 effective way, through handshakes.

01:50 They hope that by shaking hands with ministers and other public figures, they can dispel

01:54 fears that the disease is easily transmittable.

01:57 The organization also made it a point to show that people with the disease are capable of

02:01 doing even more than those who aren't, from scaling Mount Kinabalu to cycling from Perlis

02:06 to Singapore.

02:07 They think that HIV patients are going to die.

02:12 So today, things have changed.

02:16 We have people in their 40s who are HIV positive.

02:21 They're healthy.

02:22 Azman knows very well that HIV doesn't stop anyone from living a healthy life.

02:27 He thinks that HIV patients are like zombies.

02:30 If I didn't say I was HIV positive, people wouldn't know.

02:35 I'm healthy.

02:36 I'm not carrying any more weight.

02:40 The 47-year-old believes that another solution to combat discrimination is empathy and compassion.

02:46 We learn from each other.

02:50 So we don't need to judge people.

02:57 We don't need to blame people because humans are all at fault.

03:03 Danish Rajareza, FMT News.

03:05 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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