CBCP calls for summit on HIV-AIDS

MANILA, Philippines – The powerful Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines on Monday urged the Department of Health to call for a national summit of various stakeholders to discuss the rising number of HIV-AIDS cases in the country.

Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Yñiguez, CBCP public affairs director, said the CBCP is open to discussing the HIV-AIDS problem in the country after noting a marked increase in HIV cases in the past year.

“We need to have a summit meeting for all the sectors concerned to known the situation and then come up with a way to stop this threat,” the bishop said in an ABS-CBN interview.

Dr. Eric Tayag, DOH National Epidemiology Center director, welcomed the suggestion and said he will discuss it with Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral.

According to latest DOH data, there are 4,200 confirmed HIV cases in the country, with 126 new cases in the past month alone.

Data by the DOH National Epidemiology Center (NEC) also revealed that HIV/AIDS cases increased by 143% from 2008 to 2009. Most of the cases were male (88%), and most of them were in the 20 to 24 age group and from the National Capital Region (57%).

All HIV cases were transmitted through sexual contact, with 36% of cases transmitted through homosexual contact and 89% of cases caused by unprotected sex. Other “vulnerable groups” are OFWs (making up 22% of total cases in May 2009), out-of-school youth, street children who are sometimes forced into prostitution, and MSM communities (which cross-cultural studies said comprise 10% of the Philippine population).

The CBCP earlier criticized the DOH for giving out free condoms to couples buying flowers at the Dangwa Flower Market on Valentine’s Day as part of the health department’s drive against HIV-AIDS.

Yñiguez said giving out condoms as an anti-AIDS measure is questionable, noting that condoms do not really work in preventing the spread of HIV.

He added that sex education should also be done inside the home and not on the streets as done by the DOH on Valentine’s Day.

Tayag said the condom distribution program was not intended to promote the use of contraceptives but rather to encourage couples to engage in safe sex. He said condoms are part of the DOH’s three-pronged defense against sexually transmitted illnesses namely abstinence, be faithful and condoms. –abs-cbnNEWS.com