The Department of Health sees the number of people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus in the Philippines rising to over 313,000 by 2030 from the current total of nearly 47,000.
In the press conference for World AIDS Day yesterday, Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III stressed that HIV and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome continue to pose “a significant threat to Filipino families.”
“Thirty-three years after the first case of HIV was detected in the Philippines, the country now has a total of 46,985 HIV positive cases reported to the Department of Health from January 1984 to August 2017. The total number of PLHIV in the Philippines is estimated to reach 142,000 by 2022, and 313,000 by 2030,” Duque said.
“The Philippine HIV epidemic remains concentrated among key populations who engage in risky behaviors. From January to August 2017, 84 percent of newly reported cases were among males who have sex with males and transgender women who have sex with males. The young population is not spared from risks and vulnerabilities to HIV as two in three estimated new infections are from 15- to 24-year-old MSM and TGW,” he added.
The DoH chief said despite the increase in the numbers of HIV cases in the country, success has achieved in the fight against the HIV epidemic.
“Successes have been achieved so far in our fight against the HIV epidemic – from prevention, treatment, and care, as echoed by this year’s theme ‘Right to Health,’” he said.
At present, he disclosed, the Health department is close to having 200 Social Hygiene Clinics nationwide that provide HIV and STI prevention services to key populations.
“In terms of HIV testing, the DoH continuously supports the conduct of free HIV testing among key populations as delivered by Social Hygiene Clinics. HIV testing is essential in the prevention of HIV transmission, and a crucial step in providing life-saving treatment to diagnosed PLHIV,” he added. (Charina Clarisse E. Echaluce)
