Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral had been quoted in newspaper reports as saying during last Monday's HIV summit held in a hotel in Manila that "we need to show we're serious in our aim to bring down (HIV-Aids cases here)".
I don't know if she gave it a lot of thought first before issuing the statement because I believe that you cannot stop the number of HIV-Aids from rising. One of the reasons why the country is experiencing a spike in the HIV-Aids cases is because more and more people are having themselves tested if they have the virus that destroys one's immune system unlike before when individuals who engaged in high-risk activities like unprotected sex and sharing of needles were scared of getting tested for fear of stigma if they prove positive of HIV or there were no adequate counseling services available back then.
The country's small number of HIV-Aids cases in the past was actually "just the tip of the iceberg". There were many unreported cases, I am sure, which included persons who didn't even know they had HIV because they did not get tested.
But now, since adequate counseling is available before and after a HIV test and with government protection and services for HIV-positive persons provided under Republic Act 8504, we now see many getting themselves tested.
I see the continued rise in HIV-Aids cases in the country and for Secretary Cabral to say they want to bring it down is like saying you want to stop the sun from shining.
i second the motion! indeed, the number of cases or diagnoses coming up now should be presented against the total number of people who are getting tested. maybe more important than the number of persons diagnosed with hiv these days, would be an increase in the number of people getting tested, which means people are becoming more aware and more vigilant. :-)
ReplyDelete'Backreading' the previous blog entries for retrospection. June 2017: HARP (HIV/AIDS and Antiretroviral Registry of the Philippines) reports that there are 30 persons in the Philippines that are infected with HIV daily. We cannot just rely on the number of reported and documented cases of HIV+ individuals as the 'actual' number may be greater than what has been consolidated from the clinic reports and statistics from all over the country. This calls forth a radical action to really make the entire nation aware of this epidemic. HIV awareness should be brought out to light amidst stigmas. If possible, HIV testing should be MANDATORY for everyone: in companies, universities, and highschools, spanning the age range of susceptible people with high risk of infection (15-24), located in areas with the highest number of HIV cases like the NCR, Calabarzon, Region 3, Cebu, and Davao. -RV
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