Former Aussie judge warns of rising HIV cases in Phl

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines is “winning the gold medal” for having the fastest growing HIV epidemic for high-risk groups in Asia, a former judge in the Australian High Court who also served as commissioner for the Joint United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) said yesterday.

According to Michael Kirby, the number of people infected with HIV in the at-risk groups (men who have sex with men, gay men, sex workers, transgenders and injecting drug users) has grown by 425 percent in the last five years.  

“The Philippines is winning the gold medal in Asia for the fastest rising epidemic in those populations. Once the HIV virus gets into the community, it is likely to spread everywhere so it needs a lot of plain speaking,” Kirby told The STAR in an interview in Makati.

Kirby was in Manila for a five-day speaking tour on issues dealing with HIV and judicial integrity. The tour ended yesterday.

“The big problem in the Philippines is the high level in the at-risk groups,” Kirby said.

He said the apparent lack of temerity in discussing HIV/AIDS openly in Philippine society is contributing to the silent but rapid spread of the deadly virus.

“In the early days of the HIV epidemic, the leaders of the United Nations’ efforts always insisted that people living with HIV on the platform should explain things and be part of the conversation,” he said.

Kirby said the general belief is that because of religious opposition, there has been no transparency on the issue and this “has cost and will cost even more lives.”

“With more transparency, a lot more people can freely speak and give their testimonies on what should be done to make those concerned feel comfortable and truthful,” Kirby said.

He called on Filipinos to be open with their sexuality and to be transparent in talking about groups most vulnerable to HIV, such as commercial sex workers.

“There has to be more transparency on speaking about the vulnerable groups like sex workers. You can’t tell me there are no sex workers in the Philippines. You cannot tell me there are no gays in Congress. But there is not a single person in Congress who is open about his sexuality, he said. “In Australia, people are open about their sexuality.  I am a gay man and I am quite open about it. I have a partner of 45 years who has put up with me,” he said.  

Kirby also urged young people, both gay and straight, who belong to the vulnerable groups to be tested for HIV.

“If you have the HIV test and you are positive, the sooner you are on the anti-retroviral drug, you lower your viral load and you won’t infect others,” he said.

“Getting people to be tested and to be truthful about themselves is a very important way to combat the spread of HIV. That is what we discovered in Australia,” Kirby said. 

He said the Australian government managed to reduce the spread of HIV among drug-injecting users by encouraging them to come out and exchange used needles for new ones at pharmacies.