Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Current Status of HIV/AIDS in The Philippines
Current Status of HIV/AIDS in The Philippines
Current Status of HIV/AIDS in The Philippines
ThecurrentincidenceofHIV/AIDSinthe
countryremainsunder10.1%ofthetotalpopulationin2015.[1]ThePhilippineshasoneofthe
lowestratesofinfection,yethasoneofthefastestgrowingnumberofcasesworldwide.[2]The
Philippinesisoneofsevencountrieswithgrowthinnumberofcasesofover25%,from2001to
2009.[2]
Casesareconcentratedamongmenwhohavesexwithmen,[3]andsecondarily,amongfemale
sexworkers.HIVcasesamongmenhavingsexwithmenmultipliedover10timessince2010.[4]HIV
casesaregettingyounger.[2]
ThefirstcaseofHIVinfectioninthePhilippineswasreportedinJanuary1984.[3]
FromJanuary2010toApril2015,82%(20,512)ofallcaseswerereported.Atthetimeof
reporting,93%ofthesecaseswerestillasymptomatic.
AsofApril2015,9,838peoplelivingwithHIVwereundergoingAntiRetroviralTherapyin23
treatmenthubs.
OverseasFilipinoworkersaccountforabout20percentofallcases.[7]
Means of transmission
Ofthe24,936HIVpositivecasesreportedfrom1984to2015,93%(23,291)wereinfected
throughsexualcontactofwhich79%(18,023)wasthroughhomosexualandbisexualcontact
whileheterosexualcontactcomprisedtheremaining14%(3,273).5%(1,096)ofcaseswas
causedbyneedlesharingamonginjectingdrugusers,0.3%(73)throughmothertochild
transmission,<0.1%(20)throughbloodtransfusionandneedleprickinjury<0.1%(3).Nodatais
availablefor1.7%(375)ofthecases.
Cumulativedatashows24%(5,268)wereinfectedthroughheterosexualcontact,47%(11,023)
throughhomosexualcontact,and30%(7,000)throughbisexualcontact.From2007therehas
beenashiftinthepredominanttrendofsexualtransmissionfromheterosexualcontact(20%)to
maleshavingsexwithothermales(80%)[5]
Geographical Distribution
From1984to2015,theregionwiththemostnumberofreportedcaseswereMetroManilawith
11,081(44%),Region4Awith3,230(13%)cases,CentralVisayaswith2,260(9%)cases,Region
3with2,025(8%)casesandRegion11with1,460(6%)cases.3,734(15%)ofcaseswere
distributedaroundtherestofthecountrywhile1,146(5%)hadnodataontheregion.[5]
At-risk groups
Mostatriskgroupsincludemenwhohavesexwithmen,with395newhumanimmunodeficiency
virus(HIV)infectionsamongwithinthisgroupfromJanuarytoFebruary2013alone,96%upfrom
2005s210reportedinfections.AspokespersonoftheNationalEpidemiologyCenter(NEC)of
theDepartmentofHealthsaysthatthesuddenandsteepincreaseinthenumberofnewcases
withintheMSMcommunity,particularlyinthelastthreeyears(309casesin2006,and342in
2013),is"tremendouslyinexcessofwhat(is)usuallyexpected,"allowingclassificationofthe
situationasan"epidemic".Ofthecumulativetotalof1,097infectedMSMsfrom1984to2008,
49%werereportedinthelastthreeyears(72%asymptomatic)108havediedwhenreported,
andslightlymoreMSMswerereportedlyalreadywithAIDS(30%).[8]
AmongMSM's,ninetypercentofthenewlyinfectedaresingle(upto35%ofpastcasesreported
involvedoverseasFilipinoworkersorOFWsand/ortheirspouse),withthemostoftheaffected
peoplenowonly20to34yearsold(from45to49yearsoldinthepast).Thehighestnumber
ofinfectionsamongMSMsisfromMetroManila.AnHIVsurveillancestudyconductedbyDr.
LouieMarGangcuangcoandcolleaguesfromtheUniversityofthePhilippinesPhilippine
GeneralHospitalshowedthatoutof406MSMtestedforHIVfromentertainmentareasinMetro
Manila,HIVprevalenceusingtherapidtestwas11.8%(95%confidenceinterval:8.715.0).[9][10]
IncreasinginfectionrateswerealsonotedinthecitiesofAngeles,Cebu,andDavao.[8]1to3
percentofMSM'swerefoundtobeHIVpositivebysentinelsurveillanceconductedinCebuand
Quezoncitiesin2001.
Anotheratriskgroupareinjectingdrugusers(IDUs),1percentofwhomwerefoundtobeHIV
positiveinCebuCityin2005.AhighrateofneedlesharingamongIDUsinsomeareas(77
percentinCebuCity)isofconcern.Sexworkers,becauseoftheirinfrequentcondomuse,high
ratesofsexuallytransmittedinfections(STIs),andotherfactors,arealsoconsideredtobeatrisk.
In2002,just6percentofsexworkersinterviewedsaidtheyusedcondomsinthelastweek.Asof
2005,however,HIVprevalenceamongsexworkersinCebuCitywasrelativelylow,at0.2
percent.[11]
ThethreatsandeffectsthatAIDS/HIVbringstothepopulationisaseverecauseforconcern.
However,theprevalenceofviruswithinthePhilippinepopulationremainslowdespitean
increaseinthenumberofcases.Infact,thePhilippinesqualifiesasoneofthefewcountries
wherethegrowthofAIDS/HIVcaseshasapproximatelyincreasedto25%frominaspanofa
coupleofyearsfrom20012009.[12]
Theriseinthenumberofcasescanbebestcategorizedbyspecificgroupsinthepopulation.
First,theagegroupthatismostaffectedare1524yearsold.Youngprofessionalsengagingin
unprotectedsexualintercourseisthemaincauseforthecontractionanditaccountsforone
thirdoftheAIDS/HIVinfectedpopulation.Furthermore,theinfectionwithinthisagegroupismore
prevalentwithhomosexualrelationships.[12]
TheregionalpopulationthatisgreatlyaffectedbyAID/HIVisinCebu.Theprevalencerateisat
7.7%whichisgreaterthanthemajorcitiesofManilaat6.7%andQuezonCityat6.6%.Recent
datashowthatthesurgeisnotcausedbytransmissionthroughsexualintercoursebutthrough
anincreaseofpeopleinjectingdrugs.Itisnottheinjectabledrugsbutthesharingofneedles,
whichopenstheriskoftransmissionoffluids,greatlyexposingtheriskofcontractingthevirus.[13]
Response
WaryofThailandsgrowingepidemicinthelate1980s,thePhilippineswasquicktorecognizeits
ownsocioculturalrisksandvulnerabilitiestoHIV/AIDS.Earlyresponsesincludedthe1992
creationofthePhilippineNationalAIDSCouncil(PNAC),thecountryshighestHIV/AIDS
policymakingbody.MembersoftheCouncilrepresent17governmentalagencies,including
localgovernmentsandthetwohousesofthelegislaturesevennongovernmentalorganizations
(NGOs)andanassociationofPLWHA.[11]
ThepassingofthePhilippineAIDSPreventionandControlActin1998wasalsoalandmarkin
thecountrysfightagainstHIV/AIDS.However,thePhilippinesisfacedwiththechallengeof
stimulatinggovernmentleadershipactioninalowHIVprevalencecountrytoadvocatefora
strongerandsustainableresponsetoAIDSwhenfacedwithothercompetingpriorities.One
strategyhasbeentopreventSTIsingeneral,whicharehighlyprevalentinthecountry.[11]
ThePNACdevelopedthePhilippinesAIDSMediumTermPlan:20052010(AMTPIV).TheAMTP
IVservesasanationalroadmaptowarduniversalaccesstoprevention,treatment,care,and
support,outliningcountryspecifictargets,opportunities,andobstaclesalongtheway,aswell
asculturallyappropriatestrategiestoaddressthem.In2006,thecountryestablishedanational
monitoringandevaluationsystem,whichwastestedinninesitesandisbeingexpanded.
Antiretroviraltreatmentisavailablefreeofcharge,butonly10percentofHIVinfectedwomen
andmenwerereceivingitasof2006,accordingtoUNAIDS.[11]Thislackofdistributioncanbe
attributedtothefocusofhealthspendingtowardsdiseasespecificprogramsinsteadof
spendingonpublichealthwhichismorecomprehensiveandaddressesmultiplediseases.By
spendingonpublichealthingeneral,thecountrywouldbeabletostrengthenthehealthsystem
bycreatingeffectivehealthinfrastructuresthatcouldcarryoutverticalprogramswithout
creatingbraindrainorhinderingtheeconomicdevelopmentofthecountry.Withoutpassable
localinfrastructure,healthimprovementswouldnotbepossibleasdistributionofmedicalcare
andmedicineswouldbeverylimitedincidenceandprevalencereportsmaynotbeaccurate,
andprogressofhealthinitiativescouldnotbetracked.[14]
PhotographerNiccoloCosmelaunchedtheRedWhistlecampaignin2011,inspiredbyred
disasterpreparednesswhistles,toraiseawarenessandunderstandingofHIV/AIDsinthe
Philippines.[15]
References