A Public Health Emergency

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THE Philippines needs to act with a higher sense of urgency to stop the increasing number of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) cases among our young people.

Based on the latest report of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (the UNAIDS’s 2017 report, which was released in August), the Philippines posted the highest increase in new HIV cases in the Asia-Pacific region over the past six years.

The Department of Health (DOH) said the country’s HIV infection rate grew by 140 percent from 2010 to 2016, with two out of three new HIV infections among 15 to 24-year-old men who have sex with men (MSM). The UNAIDS’s 2017 report showed that in 2016 alone, 83 percent of new infections in the Philippines occurred through MSM and transgender women who have sex with men.

The number of new HIV infections documented by the DOH had reached 1,098 in May—the highest since the DOH established the HIV/AIDS Registry in 1984. The DOH had documented 44,010 HIV/AIDS cases, indicating that the country is seeing 29 new cases daily. This is compared to one case a day in 2008 and 26 cases a day in 2016.

The sharp rise in new HIV infections in the Philippines stands in contrast to decreasing or stagnant rates of new infections in other parts of the Asia-Pacific region.

More than just giving away free condoms, we need strategic interventions in all levels of government and involving all sectors of society to combat this alarming HIV spread. This is clearly a health crisis that could cripple the predominantly young population of our country.

The numbers are already disturbing as they are, but let us remember that there could easily be more HIV cases out there, because there are a lot of infected people who do not know they are or do not report it out of shame or fear of being ostracized.

Time is ticking. Eamonn Murphy, director of the UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Asia Pacific, said the Philippines only has a “small window of opportunity” to act on the epidemic.

We urge Congress to immediately pass The Philippine HIV and AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) Policy Act, in order to replace Republic Act 8504, the country’s outmoded 17-year law on HIV-AIDS prevention.

We need a new law that would improve the living conditions of HIV-positive people through greater access to treatment, care and support, as well as provide heavier penalties for entities and individuals who discriminate against them and violate their rights to confidentiality.

The government also needs to allocate more funds for education and awareness programs that should address the unsafe sex practices of Filipinos, mainly among the young population.

Local governments, in particular, should have city or municipal ordinances providing facilities and immediate help to their constituents who are afflicted with HIV, such as free testing in their health clinics and free antiretroviral vaccines to those who test positive.

There should be a “treat all” approach, meaning anyone who tests positive for HIV can avail himself or herself of treatment. Community-based risk-reduction and awareness counseling services and other low-cost interventions that can prevent the spread of HIV must also be made available.

We must recognize the HIV spread in our young population as a public health emergency that requires better coordination, more funding and a more clearly defined mission to stop it. Complacency will only ensure more HIV cases and cost lives.


Source: Google News

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