Singapore sees rise in AIDS cases, takes new measures

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Article Date: 28 Nov 2004 - 0:00 PDT


The number of AIDS cases in Singapore has risen to record highs this year. The country wants to make it compulsory for pregnant women to have HIV/AIDS screening.

Balaji Sadasivan, a Senior Health Minister, said "If all mothers had been tested for HIV, and treatment started for HIV positive mothers, the risk of the baby having AIDS would be reduced from 25 percent to 2 percent."

In 2003 there were 242 cases of HIV infection. During the first ten months of this year there have been 257 cases.

The government of Singapore says it is going to focus on educating the public about HIV/AIDS prevention. The message to the public will hit four key themes:

-- It will encourage monogamy

-- It will stress the importance of using a condom for casual sex

-- It will encourage people who have many sexual partners to have regular checks

-- It will also warn people that wanton spreading of AIDS is a crime

77 cases of HIV infection during the first ten months of this year have been among gay people (compared to 54 cases during the whole of 2003).

The majority of cases of HIV infection in Singapore are heterosexual men.

Sex among gay people is banned in Singapore. Many gay groups say this policy undermines efforts to educate the gay community about the hazards of unsafe sex. If gay sex is illegal, how can authorities tell gay people to use condoms? If they do, they may be accused of abetting illegal activity, say many people in the gay community in Singapore.

Official figures show that to date, 2,332 people have become HIV infected in Singapore. A total of 874 people have died.

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