HIV cases rising in RP, UN warns

MANILA, Philippines–Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases among Filipino youth “have been increasing at an unprecedented rate,” the United Nations representative’s office in Manila has warned.

“And while the country is still within the target of less than one percent of the population for HIV—the AIDS-causing virus—the rising number of HIV cases has become a cause for alarm,” said the UN office in a report.

The report furnished the Inquirer said, “HIV cases among the 15-24 age group nearly tripled from 41 in 2007 to 110 in 2008.”

“Aside from the youth, other vulnerable populations include persons in prostitution and their clients, males who have sex with males, people who inject drugs, and overseas Filipino workers.”

To protect the young from HIV, the local UN office asked the Philippine government to “provide accurate information on AIDS.”

“Access to comprehensive services for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can help prevent the spread of HIV,” it also said.

Local government units “need to ensure that comprehensive STI services are in place and accessible at the local level. They should also know [about] HIV and STI epidemics in their constituencies.”

“We need to generate timely strategic information for appropriate action. By knowing our epidemic, we can strengthen targeted interventions for the most-at-risk and vulnerable populations. Knowing our epidemics will enable us to plan low-cost and high-impact interventions at the local and national levels,” the UN office said.

Fighting HIV-AIDS and other killer diseases is one of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDG) for global human development. The targets, anchored on eradicating extreme poverty by 2015, were formulated by 189 UN member-states at the start of the new millennium.

The other MDG targets are achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, ensuring environmental sustainability, and developing a global partnership for development.

Under the combat HIV-AIDS target, UN member-countries were asked to “halt and begin to reverse” the spread of the disease and “achieve by 2010 universal access to treatment for HIV-AIDS for all those who need it.”

The UN office in Manila earlier said the Philippines continued to lag behind on its MDG targets.

“While the Philippines is progressing well in its bid to achieve most of the targets, faster pace of gains is urgently needed to reach some of the 2015 goals, especially because poverty has increased in the country.”

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III had said in an August 2008 press conference that an average of 29 new HIV cases a month were reported in 2007 and 2008, up from 20 cases a month in prior years.

“Although the Philippines remains a low-prevalence country, it should not be a reason to be complacent as statistics and trends show the number of those infected is on the rise,” Duque had said. –Jerry E. Esplanada, Philippine Daily Inquirer