Level of STI cases in Sarawak worrying, says Fatimah

KUCHING: Cases of sexually transmitted infections ( STIs) like gonorrhoea and syphilis in the state are worrying, with 665 and 453 cases respectively already reported from January till October this year.

Minister of Welfare, Community Well Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah said this was based on statistics from the state Health Department, which also showed 154 AIDS cases reported in the state over the same period.

In her winding-up speech in the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) yesterday, she told the august House that a total of 989 cases of gonorrhoea and 429 cases of syphilis were reported the whole of last year.

For AIDS, she said there were 167

The statistic from the Health Department indicates that 39.2 per cent of the cases reported this year for STI are those between the ages of 20 and 29, while 88.9 per cent (of infections) were due to sexual intercourse with an infected person. Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah, Minister of Welfare, Community Well Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development

cases reported last year, compared to 137 cases in 2016.

“The statistic from the Health Department indicates that 39.2 per cent of the cases reported this year for STI are those between the ages of 20 and 29, while 88.9 per cent (of infections) were due to sexual intercourse with an infected person,” Fatimah said.

Fatimah also disclosed that 16 per cent of children in Sarawak, aged between five and 15 years, suffer from mental illness.

She told the House that the prevalence of mental health among adults in the state is 35.8 per cent, adding that the two figures are based on the National Morbidity Survey 2015.

Fatimah also said her ministry would undertake an in-depth study next year to collect data concerning a number of unanswered questions related to the health wellness of Sarawakian youths.