New WHO strategies on HIV pushed

MANILA, Philippines – A party-list congressman has urged the Philippine National AIDS Council (PNAC) to quickly adopt here the new strategies being pushed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to reduce the spread of HIV and save the lives of men who have sex with men.

“We have gone over the WHO’s new public health approaches to scale up HIV services for men who have sex with men and transgender people. These are highly responsive and relevant to the Philippine setting,” said Rep. Arnel Ty of the party-list group Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers Association.

Ty made the appeal shortly after the country’s summer capital, Baguio City, had its first mass same-sex wedding.

Ty has been crusading against the spread of HIV-AIDS in the country. He has filed a House resolution seeking a congressional review of the 13-year-old AIDS Prevention and Control Law to find new ways to reinforce the fight against the highly destructive disease.

Citing National HIV-AIDS Registry statistics, Ty said “men having sex with men” have emerged as the predominant type of sexual transmission of HIV-AIDS in the country.

“If we look at the 654 new HIV cases diagnosed in the country from January to April this year, 47 percent or 305 of them were infected on account of unprotected sexual contact between males,” he said.

Ty said 32 percent or 211 of the new cases contracted the ailment as a result of unguarded bisexual encounters, while 18 percent or 116 cases were infected due to unprotected heterosexual contact.

The National HIV-AIDS Registry lists a total of 6,669 passively diagnosed cases as of April 30.

The WHO recently issued new global strategies to help policy-makers and doctors scale up access to treatment and prevention services for HIV and sexually transmitted infections among men who have sex with men and transgender people.

“Generally, men who have sex with men are nearly 20 times more likely to be infected with HIV than general populations. HIV infection rates among transgender people range between eight and 68 percent depending on the country or region,” the WHO said in a statement.

“One reason for this is the stigma experienced by many men who have sex with men and transgender people. In many countries, criminalization of same-sex relationships drives such relationships underground, making people afraid to seek HIV prevention and treatment services,” it said.

“WHO and its partners advise more inclusive approaches and suggest some practical ways to improve their access to HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care services,” it added.

“We cannot imagine fully reversing the global spread of HIV without addressing the specific HIV needs of these key populations,” said Dr. Gottfried Hirnschall, director of WHO’s HIV-AIDS Department.

“We are issuing these guidelines to help countries and communities scale up the services needed to reduce new infections and save lives,” he said.

The new guidelines provide 21 recommendations for actions to be taken by multiple stakeholders, in close cooperation with men who have sex with men and transgender people.

One recommendation is for national policy-makers and health service providers “to develop anti-discrimination laws and measures to protect human rights and to establish more inclusive services for men who have sex with men and transgender people based on their right to health.”

Another recommendation is for communities “to scale up behavioral interventions for the prevention of HIV and sexually transmitted infections among men who have sex with men and transgender people.”

HIV causes AIDS or the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. There is no known cure for the disease. However, treatments can slow down the ailment that destroys the immune system.

The PNAC is the central advisory, planning and policy making body on the prevention and control of HIV and AIDS in the country. It is made up of 26 members from the government, civil society and organizations of people living with HIV. –Jess Diaz (The Philippine Star)