Malaysian Aids Council Needs Foreign Funding To Support Its Activities

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 27 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC) requires the support of international agencies to complement the HIV/AIDS prevention programmes carried out by the Health Ministry. In a statement on Wednesday, MAC said although the Malaysian government had all this while largely bore the council's financial burden for its HIV prevention activities, additional financial support was required from international agencies to expand the council's area of coverage. It said among the international agencies were the Open Society Foundation, International HIV/AIDS Alliance and The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. MAC said since the past several years, MAC had received grants totalling RM450,000 (US$146,365) to support HIV prevention activities among the high-risk groups, especially in reducing infections among intravenous drug users and promoting Methadone Replacement Therapy, which had been proven to be effective globally. The MAC statement has come about perhaps in light of the current controversy surrounding the channelling of funds by foreign agencies to certain local organisations known to be pro-opposition and involved in anti-government activities including street demonstrations. The media have reported that the Open Society Foundation chaired by currency speculator George Soros has been channelling funds to Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) and Mkini Dot Com Sdn Bhd, which operates the Malaysiakini.com news portal. -- BERNAMA