I had a recent conversation with the top honcho of Pinoy Plus, a non-government organization (NGO) that caters to and supports people living with HIV (PLHIV) or pozzies, if you may.
He revealed that this year, the country registered the highest increase of HIV cases on a per day basis. I repeat, per day not per month. And whereas migrant workers was the sector where most HIV cases were recorded in the past, it has now shifted to the MSM or men who have sex with men group. Not only that, transmission has become more localized.
He also said that in previous years, the country would only have one case of HIV recorded a day. It became two cases a day starting early this year and then last May, it jumped to five cases per day. New infections make up most of the new cases while the rest are long-time carriers of the virus who only knew about their status recently when they decided to take a HIV test after becoming more aware of the need to know their status.
If it is any consolation, he added, the Philippines still has one of the lowest prevalence rate of HIV/Aids cases in the world.
Much really needs to be done to stem the continuing rise of HIV cases in the country. This can be done through an aggressive promotion of the awareness of HIV/Aids in the country by the public and private sectors. We should all act now lest we see a HIV/Aids epidemic blow up in our faces in the near future.
it's really scary. although the philippines has the lowest prevalence rate in the world, NGOs and LGUs are acknowledging that it's a ticking time bomb. tip of iceberg so to speak considering the exponential rate that the stats are rising compared to the previous years. plus add the MSMs behavior toward condom use. almost everyone knows about it but many still don't use it.
ReplyDeletein cebu, we have been working with DOH, City Health and HACT to put a system in place that would make the programs for positives easier to access. but we haven't really concentrated on the prevention part.
there are initiatives to create programs specifically geared towards MSMs but i haven't heard whether anything has started.
the numbers could even be higher considering how adverse MSMs are to having themselves tested - either because they are afraid of the results or because there is not enough awareness of the hows & wheres of testings/screenings
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ReplyDeleteMuch really has to be done in the prevention part.
@ infinitystrip
I agree and we can't blame MSMs for being afraid. An aggressive information campaign and adequate counseling prior and after a test are needed.
In my treatment hub, by the way, they now register seven new cases a day in a month. :( I learned about that when I visited my treatment hub today (Friday).
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