DR. MAHANI NORDIN, THE AIDS OFFICER AT TERENGGANU STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENT,WAS HONOURED AT THE GALA AS THE WINNER OF THE COVETED SUNWAY-MAF TUN DR SITI HASMAH AWARD FOR 2021.

She was recognised by the Jury for going beyond her call of duty to sustain the local community response to HIV/AIDS. She is one of the co-founders of Komuniti Cakna Terengganu, a communitybased organisation that provides harm reduction services around needle exchange and methadone maintenance to people who use drugs as well as treatment, care and support to People Living with HIV (PLHIV).

On top of her co-founding role, she donated a piece of her own one acre land to the organisation, where a shelter home was built to help men who use drugs recover and integrate into society. A small plot of the same land has been turned into a community farm that allows the residents to attain their livelihoods through a social enterprise. She was also successful in her advocacy work with key state stakeholders,leading the Terengganu state government to designate a seven-acre land to expand Komuniti Cakna Terengganu’s efforts and establish homes and facilities for men, women and children affected by HIV/AIDS.