HIV/AIDS cases in Phl up by 100

MANILA, Philippines -  The number of HIV/AIDS cases in the country has increased by more than 100 a month for the past 14 months, prompting the Department of Health (DOH) to reiterate its call against complacency towards the disease.

A report by the DOH’s National Epidemiology Center showed that last January alone, a total of 152 new HIV/AIDS cases were registered, six percent higher than the 143 cases recorded in January 2010.

This brought to 6,617 the total number of HIV cases in the country since January 1984. Of the number, 886 have developed into AIDS.

Dr. Gerard Belimac, DOH program manager for DOH’s National AIDS/Sexually Transmitted Infection Prevention and Control Program, said there are many reasons for the rising number of HIV cases in the Philippines.

“They are multi-factorial. Treatment and screening facilities may be more available now than before, so we see more cases,” Belimac said.

But he noted that HIV/AIDS is a “behavioral disease that requires behavioral change to control.”

“You cannot change people’s behavior easily. You cannot impose on them. Programs need sustainability and the support of all sectors of society.”

Belimac has urged private organizations to help the government in its education campaign to discourage the public from “risk-taking behavior” that may expose them to the AIDS virus.