World AIDS Day: Cause for worry in Phl

MANILA, Philippines - World AIDS Day is observed globally today with the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) worrying over the soaring cases of the disease in the Philippines.

Citing the 2012 UNAIDS Global AIDS Epidemic report, the UN agencies said in a joint statement that there have been “significant improvements with regard to reducing the number of new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths” worldwide.

“However, the report indicates that the situation in the Philippines has not mirrored the global progress. Conversely, the Philippines is one of nine countries whose number of new HIV infections is increasing by more than 25 percent,” they noted.

The Philippines has joined the ranks of Bangladesh, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Republic of Moldova, and Sri Lanka.

Aside from this, the UNAIDS said that the Philippines is also one of eight nations whose coverage of HIV prevention programs among males who have sex with other males – one of the key sectors affected by HIV – is below 25 percent. In other countries, the program coverage is now more than 75 percent.

“The Philippines is among the countries which have recorded a very low percentage change in the number of people dying from AIDS-related causes from 2005-2011. It is one in three countries in the Asia-Pacific region that is now categorized as having an expanding epidemic,” they added.

The UN has taken note of these trends while the timeline for the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in 2015 is drawing near.

“The UN country team in the Philippines recognizes that MDG 6, specifically to halt and reverse the spread of HIV by 2015, is among the MDGs least likely to be attained and current business models will not get the country to meet 2015 targets,” the report read.

UNAIDS country coordinator Teresita Marie Bagasao has reaffirmed the commitment of the UN in the Philippines to help curb the HIV epidemic in the country.

“In observance of World AIDS Day, the UN in the Philippines reaffirms its support to work with government, civil society and other development partners as the Philippines seeks to develop new approaches and innovative models that will break the cycle of HIV transmission, and pave the way for a new AIDS-free generation towards ‘Getting to Zero’ in 2015,” Bagasao said.

The UNICEF has also expressed concerns that a third of the new HIV cases in the country are among young people aged 15 to 24 years and “mostly from key populations, namely males who have sex with other males, people who inject drugs and people engaged in sex work.”

UNICEF added the problem is compounded by the fact that “young people and adolescents access HIV testing facilities much less than their older counterparts.”

In the Philippines, less than 10 percent of infected pregnant women are receiving the treatment they need, “which would also prevent HIV transmission to the baby, as compared to the global average of 54 percent for adults overall.”

UNICEF executive director Anthony Lake said that “by definition, an AIDS-free generation depends on protecting the youngest and most vulnerable from HIV infection.”

Lake underscored the need to do more to halt and reverse the spread of HIV, especially among key populations that have been reached, like the youth and the pregnant women.

Health Secretary Enrique Ona earlier said that the budget for the HIV/AIDS campaign is not enough and there is a need to refocus strategies on the most-at-risk population.