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The Health department emphasized the need to disseminate correct information, such as safe sex, among the youth and the vulnerable segment of the population, and establish more testing centers nationwide. Philstar/File | By Leilani S. Junio
( via Philippines News Agency)
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MANILA, Philippines — Health Secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial said Thursday that with the number of HIV cases increasing by the day, it is high time the community got involved in checking the growing prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the country.
“We have to develop a business unusual — not business as usual — strategy. This means it will not just be in health centers and hospitals. It is really going down to the communities — to the households, involving the parents, the education sector, the teachers,” Ubial said during a press briefing, as the country commemorated World AIDS Day on December 1.
With Ubial were local and international partners of the Health department who underscored that the continued rise in the number of people living with HIV/AIDS, especially among the youth, requires pulling together and creating a more effective strategy through community involvement.
Quoting National Youth Commission (NYC) Commissioner Aiza Seguerra, Ubial said stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country is no longer just the concern of the health and education sectors but is now everyone’s concern.
The Health chief emphasized the need to disseminate correct information, such as safe sex, among the youth and the vulnerable segment of the population, and establish more testing centers nationwide.
Ubial, meanwhile, said her department is studying the pros and cons of using self-testing kits.
With self-testing kits, a person no longer has to go to a health facility to get tested for HIV/AIDS, she pointed out, adding, however, that self-testing lacks the service of counselors who could help those who test positive for the disease get over their depression and even prevent them from committing suicide.
Ubial pointed out that self-testing kits are not yet available in the country because they are still considering its use due to the lack of needed logistical support.
“The test kits will not be made available in drug stores because we will need counseling before one gets tested. The danger in not getting counseling is they might not know what to do if the result is positive. One of the things we do not want to happen is an increase in suicide rate or increase in depression or increase in hiding, instead of them coming out and getting treatment,” she said.
The availability of self-testing kits has been announced by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Ubial further stressed the importance of getting the necessary treatment.
“We are providing 100 percent of the anti-retroviral treatment (ART) in this program and we are committed to continue providing this,” she said.
The Health department, she said, is offering confidential HIV testing in all facilities, including community-based testing centers, and are distributing condoms, with the help of such partners as the NYC and the Department of Education (DepEd).
”NYC and DepEd are non-traditional outlets for condom and safe sex intervention but we have to do this. We have to make sure that everybody is involved in providing safe sex education and providing testing for HIV-AIDS,” she said.
Ubial further announced that the Philippines has come up with the 6th AIDS Medium Term Plan, a strategy that involves tapping the youth as the main player in the control and prevention of HIV/AIDS, along with other non-traditional partners, such as teachers and communities.
The Health chief expressed alarm over the sharp rise in the number of HIV cases in the overall population, as well as among the youth, since 2011.
“Maybe it is because of the environment, their access to information, to social media, the tri-media. The society is more open so the youth are experimenting. They connect with other people, and they get faster information. I think that is one of the things we also have to contend with,” said Ubial.
According to data, 38,114 HIV cases were registered from 1984 to October 2016, 32,099 of which were recorded from 2011 to 2016.
Among young people aged 15 years to 24 years, 10,279 HIV cases have been registered since 1984, 9,066 of which were recorded in 2011 alone.
In the same press briefing, Seguerra said that since the youth is the new face of HIV, the fight against HIV/AIDS should start from home.
She said parents and relatives should be the first to educate the children.
“Please talk to your children about sex. Please make sure that they are protected. If you love your children, you will do everything to protect them,” she appealed to parents.
Problems, she said, lie in the fact that young people are not given the right information by their own parents, leading them to seek information from other sources, such as the Internet or worse, peers who do not have the right knowledge either.
She further said that government help would amount to nothing without the participation of parents.
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