DOH sounds alarm over AIDS

MANILA, Philippines – As the international community observes World AIDS Day today, the Department of Health (DOH) warned of the rapid increase in human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) cases in the country, where an average of six new infections are recorded every day.

Health Secretary Enrique Ona said that a decade ago, only one new HIV case was reported every two days.

He said the biggest contributor to the rise in new cases are males who have unprotected sex with males and injecting drug users who share contaminated needles.

“The HIV situation, while alarming, is concentrated among key populations at higher risk and not the public at large. This provides us with greater opportunity to halt and reverse the trend in the next few years, one which will require a more focused, multi-sectoral approach and efficient implementation of prevention and control programs,” said Ona.

He noted that the number of new HIV cases in the Philippines continues to rise even as the annual number of new HIV infections worldwide had declined.

“We urge the health sector to turn commitments into observable results rapidly and not just incremental progress, and the task may look difficult but lessons from past experience tell us differently – it can be done,” he said.

Records of the Department of Health (DOH) showed that in September alone, a total of 253 new HIV cases were recorded, the highest number of cases registered in a month since the country started its registry for HIV and AIDS in 1984.

This year, the DOH recorded 1,669 HIV cases, 71 of which progressed to AIDS and 15 died. From January 1984 to September 2011 the DOH had monitored 7,684 HIV cases, including 936 AIDS cases and 339 deaths; 23 percent of these cases were overseas Filipino workers.

State-run Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) yesterday committed to “provide strong protection and full support to members” who contract the AIDS virus.

“We wish to assure all HIV positive Filipinos who are (PhilHealth) members that we are absolutely committed to look after them. Our assurance of complete assistance also covers members who are (OFWs),” said PhilHealth president and chief executive officer Dr. Eduardo Banzon.

Banzon said PhilHealth has the Outpatient HIV/AIDS Treatment Package which provides “substantial allowance for annual reimbursements under the case payment scheme.”

“We will provide generously for HIV positive persons, to include repayments for the cost of expensive antiretroviral (ARV) treatments if necessary… We are also constantly looking for ways to further enlarge benefits,” he said.

ARV is a cocktail of drugs that stops or slows down the progression of HIV into AIDS. Banzon said PhilHealth’s program for HIV/AIDS patients is carried out in accordance with the AIDS Prevention and Control Act that stipulates that “persons with AIDS shall be afforded basic health services in all government hospitals, without prejudice to optimum medical care which may be provided by special AIDS wards and hospitals.”

“We adhere to the principle that access to insurance is part of anindividual’s right to health and is the responsibility of the state and society as a whole,” he said.

Outdated law

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, however, believes the 13-year-old AIDS law is outdated because “the spread of AIDS outpaces the law.”

The senator yesterday pushed for the passage of her bill amending Republic Act 8504 which was enacted in 1998.

“The preventive interventions that it prescribes are no longer fully aligned with what years of experience and evidence on HIV prevention recommend,” Santiago said.

Senate Bill 3072 seeks to establish a national HIV and AIDS plan that will create a road map on HIV and AIDS with clear strategies, targets, framework, and funding.

Santiago noted that the current law lacks the enabling mechanisms to enforce its human rights provisions.

She said that under the law, the response to the epidemic was “marked with complacency, lack of political leadership, and reckless disregard of evidence-informed strategies” that could prevent the spread of the virus.

“Every five years, the country adopts an HIV and AIDS Medium-Term Plan, a national roadmap on HIV and AIDS, but the implementation of this strategic plan is impeded by recalcitrant government agencies and lack of support from the national government,” she said.

Santiago said the HIV and AIDS legal framework conflicts with laws recently enacted, thus restricting actions that are crucial to halt the spread of the epidemic.

Santiago said the passage of the bill is necessary to address the present AIDS situation. The Philippines is now one of the seven countries worldwide where the number of new HIV cases continues to rise.

The bill stipulates that evidence-informed, gender sensitive, age-appropriate, and human rights-based preventive measures will be introduced, especially in key populations and vulnerable communities.

Key populations and vulnerable communities now include men in relationship with men, drug users and sex workers.

“Domestic and international health experts have not been remiss in warning the country that it has all the necessary ingredients for an HIV epidemic. Condom use is low among Filipinos. Among key populations, sexually transmitted infections and multiple sexual partnerships are common,” Santiago said.

Santiago is worried that government failure to provide proper response could worsen the situation. She cited reports of government epidemiologists who said that by 2015, the total number of HIV cases in the Philippines could reach 45,000 from the reported 7,000 cases in 2011. –Marvin Sy, Sheila Crisostomo (The Philippine Star)