CDO tagged as HIV/Aids ‘hotspot’

CASES of Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV-Aids) in Cagayan de Oro have reached an alarming level, making the city a “hotspot.”

Health assistant secretary Dr. Enrique Tayag said there is one patient diagnosed to be living with HIV in the city every week.

In a statement during Sunday’s 30th International Aids candlelight memorial and mobilization (IACMM) activity held at the Kiosko Kagawasan here, Tayag said the number of reported HIV/Aids cases in the city has already soared to eight cases for the first quarter in 2013 compared with the 12 cases recorded in 2012.

HIV is prevalent among men having sex with men, aged 15 to 22.

Tayag expressed concern over the increasing number of HIV/Aids cases in the city adding to the present 12,701 cases in the Philippines that is expected to swell in the coming months.

He urged various groups like Misamis Oriental-Cagayan de Oro Aids Network (Mocan), Tisaka, the Philippine National Police (PNP), health, religious and academe to work closely in this serious campaign against the HIV/Aids.

He said the Health department will continue its commitment to end HIV-Aids incidents here by raising awareness and advocating for the advancement of effective policies at all levels, following the strategy of getting to “zero,” namely, zero Aids-related deaths, zero new HIV infections, and zero stigma and discrimination and the positive dignity and prevention framework as driven by the movement of people living with the disease.

Dr. David Mendoza, head of the DOH’s Regional Epidemiology, Surveillance and Disaster Response Unit (Resdru) in Northern Mindanao, said the eight cases for the first quarter of 2013 is alarming and Kagay-anons should be aware of.

Mendoza said the department is happy, because its campaign against HIV-Aids has been very effective since the stigma of the disease is slowly fading causing more people to come out for a voluntary screening.

The voluntary screening has improved the department’s database that resulted to getting more people educated on HIV/Aids.

People with HIV have undergone series of counseling now compared in the past where they were afraid to openly admit their infection because of fear of discrimination. The counseling has also helped them face HIV/Aids with much courage.

Mendoza said to strengthen the zero campaign, DOH has set up a voluntary counseling and testing center at Northern Mindanao Medical Center here.

He said persons suspected with HIV could voluntarily approach the testing center for monitoring and provide with confidential counseling session plus free retro viral treatment that can prolong the patients’ lives.

“The IACMM program did not only commemorate those who perished in this disease, but it also focuses on the dangers, threats of HIV epidemic,” Fritzie Caybot-Estoque, Mocan chairperson and director of the Liceo Center for Community Development said.

During the activity on Sunday, Tayag led the lighting of a red candle where the different sectors and people living with HIV/Aids also joined in the ceremonial lighting.

Ray Namocatcat of Tingog Kagay-an said every year his group actively participates in the program as its way of taking action to prevent and minimize the spread of the viral disease especially with males having sex with males.

Namocatcat said the international Aids candlelight memorial in coordination with the Global Network of People living with HIV is one of the oldest and largest grassroots mobilization campaigns for HIV awareness in the world. He said it started in 1983, the IACMM takes place every third Sunday in May and is led by a coalition of some 1,200 community organizations in115 countries.

He said the program is more than just a memorial as it serves as a community mobilization campaign to raise social consciousness about HIV and Aids.

Namocatcat hoped that the annual activity would serve as an important intervention for global solidarity, breaking down barriers of stigma and discrimination and giving hope to the new generation.

After the candle lighting ceremony, Rus, a person living with HIV, inspired others to accept their condition and to come out in the open.

Rus, not his real name, said he was the seventh person diagnosed with the disease in 2006, and said it was very difficult to come out in the open at that time due to discrimination.

He said it took him years to accept his condition, he maintained to look normal, and does his routine activity, almost putting into peril the health of his wife and child.

After his family was tested negative, he made a positive disposition to live longer and vowed to be an advocate against HIV and to be an inspiration to others.

In a study on HIV/Aids conducted by the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital, the reports showed people infected with HIV-Aids are getting younger.

There are 1,089 people living with HIV/Aids in 2013. Most of them are between 22 and 29 years old. It cited the social media’s contribution to the changing and evolving views on casual sex. –Nicole J. Managbanag, Sun Star