One of the things that struck us during one of the speeches during the gala was when the Minister of Health, Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said, "Although we don't talk about sex, it is about time we do, in the context of public health." Following that Professor Dato' Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman announced that the event has successfully raised RM1.68mil towards ending the AIDS epidemic – a feat which was celebrated beautifully by also awarding outstanding individuals the prestigious Tun Dr Siti Hasmah award, by our first lady herself. The awardees recognised for their efforts were the Teratak Kasih Tok Nan Project, Datin Mina Cheah-Foong, Yayasan Sime Darby and Matron Fadzilah Abdul Hamid all of whom are working towards getting to zero – zero discrimination, zero new infections and zero AIDS-related deaths.

Photos: Sean Wong