Press Release
AS HIV SPREAD CONTINUES, ESPECIALLY AMONG THE YOUNG AND OFWs, 'COMPASSIONATE', CARING APPROACH NEEDED
"More and more of the new generation of Filipinos, aged 24 and younger, are getting infected with HIV-AIDS," Bagong Henerasyon Party-List Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy said on Sunday.
She is one of the principal authors of House Bill 6617, the House version of the proposed Philippine HIV and AIDS Policy Act.
"New figures just released by the DOH show that in January and February this year 549 young Filipinos tested positive for HIV, and 79 of them are aged 10 to 19. Total reported cases for these two months were 1,892 and 304 of them were already at the advanced stages of HIV-AIDS when they were tested," said Herrera-Dy, chairperson of the House Committee on Women and Gender equality.
The congresswoman said the enabling law for the government’s updated program on HIV-AIDS is needed "as soon as possible."
"The House has approved its bill on the matter. It would really help if the Senate version makes progress. Perhaps the DOH can ask the Senate Committee on Health how the process can be expedited. Perhaps some senators have specific concerns the DOH can clarify," the congresswoman said.
She pointed out that "HIV-AIDS is clearly and squarely a public health issue."
"It requires a compassionate approach to HIV patients and to people at high risk of getting HIV because of sharing of needles and unsafe practices during transactional sex, male-to-male sex.
For his part, AANGAT TAYO Party-List Rep. Neil Abayon, a registered nurse, noted the continuing spread of HIV among OFWs - mostly through male-to-male sexual contact--and asked the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to approach the public health issue "with caring and concern".
Just-released data from the HIV-AIDS Registry show 140 OFWs tested positive for HIV infection last January and February. For the whole year of 2017, 814 OFWs were HIV-positive. So that means the total so far from last year and this year stands at 954. The same data also point out that 5,537 OFWs got HIV from January 1984 to February 2018.Those 5,537 cases represent 11 percent of total HIV-AIDS cases of 52,280.
"OWWA needs more tools and projects to combat loneliness and promote safe sex practices among OFWs especially male OFWs," Abayon, Assistant Minority Leader said. (END)
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Topic: OFWs with HIV-AIDS (Read 745 times)