More OFWs return with HIV— DOLE

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported yesterday the rising number of returning OFW’s who are already afflicted with the deadly AIDS causing virus.

DOLE records showed that OFWs now account for 25 percent or 349 of the recorded total 1,424 Filipinos confirmed to be afflicted with HIV from January 1984 to October 2000.

Ma. Lourdes Marin, of the Action for Health Initiatives (ACHIEVE), Inc., a non-government organization (NGO) assisting workers with HIV, said many OFWs leave the country without a realistic picture of life abroad making them vulnerable to the disease.

Marin cited low knowledge about AIDS, low condom use as among the factors making OFWs vulnerable to the deadly illness.— Mayen Jaymalin