Stigma by the public towards drug abuse and addiction is one factor that prevents those involved from seeking professional treatment and help for their problems, said Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
He said these individuals perceive that if they publicly admit they are addicts, there will probably be legal consequences where they will be arrested.
“Recently, we looked at the case of a teenager who was accused of stealing mosque funds and saw how he was humiliated. I don’t think that is the way our society should treat people.
“Addiction must be treated as a medical concern,” he said.
He was speaking to reporters after launching the Eliminate AIDS through Smart Collaboration of Government-Non-Governmental Organisation (GO-NGO) Health Clinic (KK) Model 2.0 in Klang, Selangor today.
Khairy said the matter was raised following the approach used by certain organisations, such as the Malaysian AIDS Council, which, to some extent, has succeeded in changing society's perception of those living with HIV-AIDS.
This initiative allows NGOs to operate in health clinics to help strengthen programmes to reduce harm amongst HIV-AIDS patients.
The Pandamaran Health Clinic in Klang has been selected to implement the programme in collaboration with the Malaysian AIDS Council.
He explained that with the empowerment of the community and NGOs, the Health Ministry hopes to eliminate AIDS by 2030 through the National Strategic Plan for Ending AIDS 2016-2030.
- Bernama
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