CONTACT US
JASMIN JALIL
Executive Director
T 03-4047 4311 | 012-3200 686
E jasmin@mac.org.my
ERIC NAVIN RAJ
Fundraising Manager
T 03-4047 4266 | 018-9867 096
E eric@mac.org.my
- Call Us
- +603.4047.4222
- maf@mac.org.my
Act Against AIDS
Reaching out to People Living with HIV
ACT AGAINST
AIDS
DISCLAIMER:
Unless otherwise stated, the appearance of individuals in this publication gives no indication of HIV status, sexual orientation or gender identity.
DISCLAIMER:
Unless otherwise stated, the appearance of individuals in this publication gives no indication of HIV status, sexual orientation or gender identity.
ACT AGAINST
AIDS
The Act Against AIDS is a signature awareness and fundraising campaign by the Malaysian AIDS Foundation that aims to address the HIV epidemic and its impact on the lives of Malaysians.
Whilst many programmes carried out by our NGO partners have shown success, sustainability of these programmes remain under threat for lack of continuous funding. The impact of HIV and AIDS can be seen most dramatically in those in the lower social strata of society, including among children and adolescents orphaned by AIDS. They are deemed the most vulnerable because they face grave risks to their education, health, and well-being. Many more children live with parents who are chronically ill, live in households that have taken in orphans or have lost their family members to AIDS and they are all equally affected by the epidemic.
The Malaysian AIDS Foundation is using the Act Against AIDS Campaign as a rallying call to put an end to the negative impact of HIV and AIDS on Malaysian society. We need your support to make positive changes in the lives of those who are at the most vulnerable to HIV and AIDS and to continue carrying out important HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment efforts that can protect our future generation from this epidemic.
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Community response has been the hallmark of the global HIV response. There is no other disease known to mankind where the community response has played such a critical role and resulted in significant achievement.
And so it is here in Malaysia, where the Malaysian AIDS Foundation and our sister organisation, the Malaysian AIDS Council, and the more than 40 Partner Organisations across the country have worked side by side with the Ministry of Health and other government agencies to advocate, to campaign, to deliver services and to now strive to end the AIDS epidemic in Malaysia.”
~Prof Dato’ Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman
Chairman, Malaysian AIDS Foundation
TESTIMONY
PAL Scheme:
New lease of life
JUE, JOHOR
Jue (not her real name), is a 48-year-old widow from Johor. She has an eight-year-old son in primary school and works as a supervisor with a salary of RM1,000 per month at a factory in Ulu Tiram, Johor.
Jue’s husband, a former drug addict, had died in 2000 and she only knew about his status after she was confirmed HIV positive in 2001. She started treatment in 2014 at Sultanah Aminah Hospital, Johor Bharu, but her condition took a turn for the worse between 2008 and 2009. The medication that she was taking did not suit her and had resulted in her suffering from depression.
The doctor then advised her to seek second-line treatment and Jue was fortunate to receive assistance from the PAL Scheme run by the Malaysian AIDS Foundation. With the change in medication, her health improved and Jue is now leading an active and healthy life. “I truly appreciate the help and support given by the Malaysian AIDS Foundation. It transformed me from a person who was always living with stress and depression, to someone with a more positive outlook in life. I look forward to providing a better future for my son,” she said.
Pertubuhan Komuniti CAKNA Terengganu:
Capacity building to earn sustainable income
Pertubuhan Komuniti CAKNA Terengganu is the first non-governmental organisation in the state serving the interests of PLHIV. Founded in 2010, its main aim is to mitigate the negative impact of HIV for the people of Terengganu. The NGO works closely with the Ministry of Health, Terengganu Health Department, Majlis Agama Islam & Istiadat Terengganu (MAIDAM) and other international development agencies to ensure the smooth implementation of various HIV prevention and support programmes.
CAKNA carries out Treatment, Care and Support programmes for people infected or affected by HIV and AIDS. They currently operate a hospital peer support programme for newly-diagnosed clients and two halfway home facilities; one for single mothers and children living with HIV, and the other for men living with HIV. So far, 300 PLHIV have benefited from this programme. The halfway home, which provides six months transitional shelter pending search for permanent accommodation and employment opportunities for those infected and affected by HIV and AIDS, has helped to increase their self-esteem and improve their quality of life through life skills training, peer counselling and peer support.
In October 2010, CAKNA embarked on a Work Therapy Programme with the cooperation of the Terengganu State Agriculture Department. The programme provides residents at the shelter with training capacity and living skills development to venture into agriculture activities such as cultivation of kale, chili, long bean, eggplant and cucumber. In efforts to increase revenue to accommodate the growing number of residents, CAKNA started a project to process and distribute chili in August 2016. This on-going project has yielded good income which allows CAKNA to survive. With the financial assistance channelled by the Malaysia AIDS Foundation, the income from this business can be enhanced.
Besides providing the shelter with sustainable income, the Work Therapy Programme also enables the residents to gain agricultural knowledge which will help them to earn a livelihood when they leave the shelter.
MyLady Assistance Scheme:
Road to financial independence
ZAHRA – MELAKA
Zahra (not her real name), 39, found out that she was HIV positive when she went for a medical check-up during her pregnancy 17 years ago. Her doctor recommended her to start immediate antiretroviral treatment to prevent her unborn child from getting infected. Soon after she gave birth, her husband died from brain tumor and she was left alone to care for her son, who is now 16 years old.
A former nurse, Zahra found it tough to find a stable job to support her family due to her HIV status. She faced a lot of stigma and discrimination when applying for jobs, especially those that require her to do a HIV test. She also needs to go for frequent medical check-ups and follow-ups which caused a financial drain on her.
Zahra then decided to return to her parents’ house in Melaka and she was fortunate to get their support regardless of her status. They inspired her to live a good life and constantly reminded her to continue getting treatment. However, due to stress and her deteriorating health, Zahra defaulted on her treatment regime and developed resistance to her first-line treatment. As a result, she now needs second-line treatment which is not provided free at government hospitals. The medications cost her up to RM500 a month.
To earn extra money, she helps out her parents at their food stall near their housing area where she sells nasi lemak, mee goreng and a variety of kuih muih.
Zahra was delighted when she qualified for the MyLady Assistance Scheme run by the Malaysian AIDS Foundation. The programme gives her the opportunity to expand her family’s business by equipping her with vocational skills and financial aid. She has set her sights on opening a restaurant so she can better provide for her family.
“My family is all that I have left in this world. They have been with me through good and bad times. I am so happy to be given this chance to turn my life around and become a successful businesswoman one day,” she said.
Paediatic AIDS Fund:
Hope for normal childhood
LOOI, SELANGOR
Looi (not his real name) is only 10 years old but is already facing many challenges in his young life. Apart from being HIV positive since birth, he is also a disabled person (OKU) and never had the chance of going to school.
Looi lives with his parents, who are also HIV positive, and a 14-year-old brother in a kampung house in Klang, Selangor, which they share with other residents who are not aware of their HIV status.
Both he and his parents are getting treatment at Hospital Tuanku Ampuan Rahimah in Klang. Since they do not own a vehicle, they have to seek help from their friends to send them to HTAR for their HIV check-ups and treatment. Looi’s father, who is a fisherman, had received assistance from the Selangor Social Welfare Department in 2016 but this was terminated due to some miscommunication with the department. His father had also requested for a wheelchair for Looi so that he can be more mobile but they have yet to receive any assistance from anyone.
Fortunately, Looi qualified to become a beneficiary under the Paediatric AIDS Fund (PAF) run by the Malaysian AIDS Foundation. The family is grateful for the financial allowance of RM100 that they get every month from PAF which helps to reduce their financial burden. “Most of my income goes to feeding my children and getting my family to the hospital for our monthly treatment. We would really love to get a wheelchair for my son to move around and play with his brother,” said Looi’s father.
TREATMENT, CARE AND SUPPORT PROGRAMME
The Malaysian AIDS Foundation also carries out the following programmes to help People Living with HIV, especially women and children, look forward to a brighter future.
Change the lives of children living with HIV
Paediatric AIDS Fund
The Paediatric AIDS Fund (PAF) helps poor Malaysian children (from new born babies until 12 years old) who are infected and affected by HIV/AIDS to ensure that they are not deprived of a normal childhood despite the presence of AIDS in their households.
Through this scheme, some of the urgent and basic needs are met to help the children and their families cope with their problems. The financial aid will give them access to treatment as well as cater to their daily basic needs such as food, clothing and school expenses.
Keep in School Scheme
The Keep in School Scheme (KISS) is vital as AIDS-related stigma continues to affect children aged between 13 and 18 years that were either born with the disease or affected by it when a family member becomes infected.
The KISS programme, in the form of small monthly cash allowance, will enable these children to pursue their secondary school education and give them renewed hope of leading normal and healthy lives just like other children.
Improve access to treatment for People Living with HIV
PAL Scheme
Access to treatment has been identified as one of the major gaps in HIV response in Malaysia, where only 4 out of 10 PLHIV are receiving treatment.
The Malaysian government provides free first-line treatment for PLHIV. Patients who require second or third-line medication (due to advancing disease progression) are currently not supported by the government. The situation is especially dire for patients from poor household income who would default on their treatment because they can’t afford to buy the medication that runs into thousands of ringgit per prescription.
To ensure that they continue to have access to treatment, the Malaysian AIDS Foundation launched the PAL Scheme in 1998. The scheme offers second-line treatment which provides underprivileged Malaysians living with HIV the opportunity to undergo Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) with the objective of helping them to prolong and improve their quality of life.
Sabah Health Access Programme (SHAPE)
The Malaysian AIDS Foundation, with support from the Sabah State Government and Chief Minister’s Office, led by YAB Datuk Seri Panglima Mohd Shafie Apdal, initiated the Sabah Health Access Programme (SHAPE) to provide financial assistance to underprivileged patients from the State’s rural areas who have to travel great distances to seek life-saving treatment for HIV or any other chronic diseases at government healthcare facilities located in the main towns of Sabah.
Ultimately, SHAPE aims to boost the Community Healthcare by providing direct assistance with minimum bureaucracy for the people of Sabah. Cash incentive is awarded to qualified patients to cover the high cost of travelling and other logistic expenses related to their hospital trip. At the same time, the programme also provides Referral Services to underprivileged clients who require long-term welfare support or any other forms of assistance.
Provide Shelter Care For People Living with HIV
People living with HIV (PLHIV) face insurmountable challenges from stigma and discrimination. They are rejected by their family members and surrounding community. The situation is worse for women and children as they have no source of income.
Our shelter home is the place where they seek refuge as we provide them with a residential setting conducive for emotional and physical well-being. Services provided include basic nursing care, palliative care, medical referrals and bereavement counselling, psychosocial as well as spiritual support service. Our clients include women and children living with HIV.
Shelter home for children – from new born to adolescents – is the place where they grow up. Basically, their entire childhood is spent at the shelter and they know of no other life. They are cared for by dedicated caregivers and we provide them with support group sessions, educational activities, vocational skills, talks on HIV/AIDS awareness as well as in-house counselling for emotional and psychological support.
Teratak Kasih Tok Nan
Teratak Kasih Tok Nan, located in Kuching, Sarawak, is a halfway home which provides overnight lodging facility as well as travel subsidy for underprivileged HIV patients to ensure that they continue to get the care and treatment they need. HIV patients in Sarawak, especially those from the rural and remote areas, have to travel far to seek treatment. Some have to journey more than 12 hours just to access treatment at the Sarawak General Hospital in Kuching which result in many being discouraged from seeking or defaulting on their treatment.
Rumah Sahabat
Rumah Sahabat was established by MAF in Kota Bharu to respond to the urgent and growing need for a shelter home that can provide palliative care for HIV patients in Kelantan. Prior to Rumah Sahabat, patients from the state were referred to shelter care facilities in Terengganu and Pahang, even as far away as Kuala Lumpur. Because of these shortcomings, many patients miss out on care and treatment due to the lack of community-based facilities. Rumah Sahabat provides round-the-clock care for the patients and oversees the complete recovery and rehabilitation of the residents, with the aim of helping them to get back on their feet and lead normal lives.
End discrimination against People Living with HIV at workplace
Malaysian Business Consortium on HIV/AIDS (MBCH)
Discrimination at the workplace is still a contentious issue even till today. PLHIV continue to lose their jobs due to their status. Many employers are still resistant to the idea of hiring PLHIV and hold on to the notion that PLHIV are unproductive. This is far from the truth. Due to great advancement in treatment, HIV is now reduced to a chronic illness and PLHIV can carry out their job responsibilities like any other normal employees.
Our goal is to create as many safe spaces as possible for employees and professionals living with HIV to thrive and succeed. To this end, MAF has initiated a set of policies and guidelines to normalise HIV/AIDS at the workplace through our Malaysian Business Consortium on HIV/AIDS, which is a platform for businesses to come together and pool their resources to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS at the workplace.
Empower People Living with HIV and help them to build better lives
Motivate People Living with HIV to generate sustainable income
MAF encourages shelter homes under its support to embark on income-generating activities by providing small grants to Partner Organisations to scale up their projects. One of the projects currently funded by MAF is chilly processing by CAKNA, a halfway home for former injecting drug users (IDU) living with HIV. Besides driving additional source of income for the shelter home, this sustainability practice also serves as an important skill-building process for the residents to prepare them for their future life outside the shelter and facilitates their return to society.
MyLady Assistance Scheme
In 2019, MAF introduced the MyLady Assistance Scheme to help women living with HIV find their footing in life. Most of these women come from poor backgrounds that have low education level which make it hard for them to seek employment. Their hardships don’t end there. After losing their spouses to AIDS, the women have to grapple with the reality that they themselves are infected with HIV and have to single-handedly raise their orphaned children. Worse, they bear the brunt of the enormous stigma attached to being widowed by AIDS and are often left to battle the discrimination alone.
This is where the Malaysian AIDS Foundation steps in to rescue them from a life of despair. We believe that the only way for these women to escape from this vicious cycle of poverty is by empowering them with vocational skills and capacity building.
We use proceeds from our fundraising efforts to set up a small grant for Women Living with HIV to start small-scale enterprises and develop their vocational skills. This will empower them to gain their self-confidence, financial independence and make a positive contribution to society.
Leader in HIV Advocacy and Education
HIV & Islam
HIV & Islam is an advocacy initiative that promotes the adoption of HIV/AIDS agenda by state and federal-level Islamic authorities. The objectives are:
• To educate grassroots religious leaders (village Imams) on their responsibility to impart correct information about HIV/AIDS to their constituents and also convince the local leaders to reject stigma and discrimination towards People Living with HIV.
• To get religious authorities buy-in for Harm Reduction Initiative for the prevention of HIV/AIDS epidemic, especially among the Malay Muslims who now represent the highest percentage of People Living with HIV in Malaysia.
• To involve the religious authorities in Treatment, Care and Support programmes for People Living with HIV such as shelter homes and the PAL Scheme.
Red Ribbon Youth Club
The Red Ribbon Youth Club (RRYC) is the Malaysian AIDS Foundation’s call to arms for youths (aged 18 to 40 years) in this country to empower themselves with correct HIV & AIDS information.
The programme is also a platform to address HIV vulnerabilities at the grassroots level. The RRYC is spearheaded by Aaron Aziz, a Red Ribbon Celebrity Supporter, who is also the spokesperson for our Teens & HIV programme.
Objectives of the Red Ribbon Youth Club are:
• To disseminate accurate information on HIV prevention and risk reduction to youths;
• To increase awareness of HIV & AIDS among youths to eliminate stigma and discrimination;
• To encourage volunteerism among youths in HIV support programmes and awareness campaigns.
RRYC has partnered with numerous public and private education institutions, including Universiti Utara Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Mara, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Management Science University, University Kuala Lumpur and many more.