The government of Saudi Arabia is pushing for an intensified HIV testing for all Filipino workers bound for Middle East countries in view of the rising number of AIDS cases all over the world.
Saudi Ambassador to the Philippines Mohammad Amen Wali has urged Gulf Coordinating Council Medical Clinics Association (Gamca) to implement a more stringent physical and medical procedure on all Filipino workers before they could apply for work visas in Saudi, Kuwait and Oman.
In a meeting last week, Wali asked Gamca president/chairman Dr. Rodolfo Punzalan to immediately undertake more sensitive screening exams and information campaign among Filipino workers.
AIDS/HIV cases are known to proliferate especially among those Filipino workers, especially the seafarers.
Punzalan assured the Saudi envoy that his association is working in tandem with the Department of Health (DoH) to flush out HIV positive workers and those others afflicted with sexually transmitted disease.
The DoH said that 322 persons were infected from January to May this year, with 85 cases in May alone. Since 1984, the country has recorded 3,911 HIV cases.
It was also shown that of the 322 new infections reported in the first five months of this year, 88 per cent were males and 36 per cent acquired the disease through homosexual contact.
The United Nations has expressed alarm over the rising number of HIV/AIDS cases in the Philippines, but said the world body is allocating $1.5 million to help the country fight the disease.
Renaud Meyer, director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the Philippines, said the fact that the country reported 85 new cases in one month is “worrisome.”
Meyer said the $1.5-million assistance from the UN would help compile an analysis of the health and sexual rights of gay men and transgenders and learn from their experiences. –Michaela P. del Callar, Daily Tribune
July 2025
Nutrition Month
“Give us much more than P50 increase
for proper nutrition!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO Constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar
to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations
against serious violations of
Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.
Accept National Unity Government (NUG)
of Myanmar. Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands #Distancing #TakePicturesVideosturesVideos
July
3 July – International Day of Cooperatives
3 July – International Plastic Bag Free Day
5 July – World Youth Skills Day
7 July – Global Forgiveness Day
11 July – World Population Day
17 July – World Day for International Justice
28 July – World Nature Conservation Day
30 July – World Day against Trafficking in Persons
Monthly Observances:
Schools Safety Month
Nutrition Month
National Disaster Consciousness Month
Weekly Observances:
Week 2: Cultural Communities Week
Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise
Development Week
Week 3: National Science and
Technology Week
National Disability Prevention and
Rehabilitation Week
July 1-7:
National Culture Consciousness Week
July 13-19:
Philippines Business Week
Week ending last Saturday of July:
Arbor Week
Daily Observances:
First Saturday of July:
International Cooperative Day
in the Philippines
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
