Cabral defends condoms

MANILA, Philippines – Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral reiterated yesterday that there is no evidence that condoms promote promiscuity or casual sex.

Cabral said the pronouncement of critics that condoms are related to promiscuity is unfounded, as she stood firm on her stand to vigorously promote the use of condoms to fight HIV and AIDS.

“There is no evidence that the promotion of the use of condoms is also the promotion of promiscuity. If you are promiscuous, you are really promiscuous,” she said after attending a forum in Quezon City organized by the Philippine College of Physicians and Philippine Health Care Association of the Philippines.

Catholic groups have criticized Cabral for ordering the distribution of free condoms to combat HIV and AIDS cases that have increased in the country during the past three years.

Cabral said “consistent and correct use” of condoms is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of HIV, which could lead to full blown AIDS.

“We have to be faithful (to our partners) and to be careful. Use condoms and other means so as not to spread sexually transmitted diseases,” she added.

Cabral said that opposition to the promotion of condoms in relation to family planning had affected the anti-HIV program and led to the rise in HIV cases in the past years.

Dr. Edcel Salvaña, a consultant at the Sagip HIV/AIDS clinic at the Philippine General Hospital, said that 90 percent of HIV cases are “sexually transmitted.”

“So obviously, if condoms were promoted adequately, we could not be experiencing this (rising HIV cases),” he added.

Salvaña said that while the global trend for HIV cases declined by 17 percent from 2001 to 2010, the number of cases in the Philippines increased at 334 percent during the same period. In 2009, the rate of increase was 400 percent.

Records of the Department of Health (DOH) showed that 4,569 HIV cases were registered in the country from 1984 to January 2010.

In November 2009, the DOH had recorded 80 cases while in December, a total of 126 cases were registered. In January 2010, a total of 143 cases were monitored.

“The DOH said at current estimates, there will be 20,000 confirmed cases in 2020, conservatively. However, at the current doubling time of two years, if this continues, there will be over 20,000 cases per year,” he added.

Salvaña came up with this estimate by considering that in 2009, there were 835 cases recorded.

“We doubled cases from 2007 to 2009, two years. In 2009, we had 835 cases. If doubling rate continues – 1,600 cases by 2011, 3,200 cases by 2013, 6,400 cases by 2015, 12,800 by 2017, and 25,600 cases by 2019,” he said.

He said that to effectively curb the disease, there is also a need to track down some 15,000 “undetected” HIV cases who are not even aware that they have the virus.  –Sheila Crisostomo (The Philippine Star)