Burnet Institute

In Malaysia illicit drug use was considered a menacing concern and an enemy of the people. The government has implemented various strategies to tackle drug use with the current goal of achieving a drug free society by 2015. Yet, even with increasing draconian punishments imposed for drug use there was a substantial rise in both new and relapse drug user cases.

The Burnet Institute undertook a study of the sexual behaviour of young men in Vientiane from August to November in 2004. The study was funded by the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Bangkok.

The study was conducted with objectives to explore the barriers to access and utilization of Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) services by pregnant key populations and describe the factors of not accessing PMTCT services.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) – the use of HIV antiretroviral (ARV) treatment by HIV-negative individuals to reduce their risk of acquiring HIV - is now recognised as an emerging and fundamental biomedical component of combination HIV prevention approaches.