HIV cases among drug users still increasing- DOH

MANILA, Philippines –  The Department of Health (DOH) is now in a quandary on how to curb the growing number of cases of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) among injecting drug users due to conflicting laws on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and drug abuse.

In an interview, Health Secretary Enrique Ona said that injecting drug users continue to contribute to the country’s HIV/AIDS cases but the DOH cannot do much to stop this.

Ona said one of the strategies employed in countries like Switzerland was to “recognize addiction” and to distribute needles among injecting drug users to prevent the spread of the AIDS virus.

This scheme, however, cannot be adopted in the Philippines.

“We cannot use that kind of technique here. Here, you’ll be arrested if you are a drug user. It’s really complicated,” he said.

But the health chief underscored the need to put up more rehabilitation centers for drug dependents.

“That way, we may also be able to bring down the number of HIV cases in the country. We can put them in rehabilitation centers,” Ona said.

At present, the multi-sector Philippine National AIDS Council is coordinating with the Dangerous Drugs Board to discuss the possible amendment of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 to make it attuned to the Philippine AIDS Prevention and Control Act of 1998.

This strategy is also contained in the 5th AIDS Medium Term Plan 2011-2015, the blueprint of the country’s fight against HIV.

Based on the DOH’s National HIV-AIDS Registry, four of the 171 new HIV cases in April were caused by “re-using needles among injecting drug users.”

Since January 1984, the agency had monitored 6,669 HIV cases and 867 of them have progressed into AIDS.

Around five years ago, men having sex with men became the main contributor to HIV cases in the country but in 2009, the DOH had observed rising injection among drug users in Cebu City.

Health experts feared that this would further hike the number of cases in the Philippines since a contaminated needle can spread the AIDS virus to up to 10 drug users. –Sheila Crisostomo (The Philippine Star)