Condoms, lubrication offered free vs HIV

With the country having the fastest rate of new HIV infection in the Asia-Pacific, the government is distributing for free condoms and lubricants in barangay health centers. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the distribution is being done with little fanfare

because the issue is “politically sensitive.”

Duque told “The Chiefs” on Cignal TV’s One News on Thursday night that the distribution of condoms and lubricants, supplied by the Department of Health (DOH), is targeted particularly at the sector where HIV is spreading at the fastest rate – men having sex with men.

“Condom use is increasing by five percent every two years, but that’s hardly enough,” Duque said.

He said at 140 percent increase rate over the past six years, the Philippines has the fastest new HIV infection rate in Asia-Pacific, referring to last year’s report of the joint United Nations Program on HIV/ AIDS (UNAIDS).

By the end of 2018, UNAIDS and the World Health Organization project that the country’s cases would rise to around 100,000. But Duque gave assurance that this will not happen because of the DOH’s various programs, including the increase of treatment hubs from five during his time in 2005 to the current 85 nationwide.

“These treatment hubs provide the prevention support and care interventions and we also have the outpatient treatment facilities,” he added.

Given this scenario, Duque clarified that the country still has the lowest number of cases among Southeast Asian nations with Indonesia on top, followed by Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and, at the last spot, the Philippines.

“These other countries have half a million (cases), more or less,” the health chief said.

The Philippines had documented a total of 53,192 cases from January 1984 to March 2016.

“But that’s not an excuse to let our guard down… all the more we have to really level up, step up our campaign and target the most vulnerable sector which is really the MSMs,” he claimed, referring to males who have sex with males.

Duque added they found that the knowledge about how HIV is transmitted is still “very low” even among the MSM, so “we need to target them.”

He urged those at risk to undergo testing and seek treatment if they are positive for the AIDS virus, assuring them that the DOH provides free anti-retroviral treatment (ARV).

“It’s absolutely free and, if only patients would follow the prescription religiously, their life expectancy will approximate that of a normal individual,” he maintained.

The DOH found that a majority of those who undergo testing do not come back to get the results for fear that they may turn out to be infected and will eventually be stigmatized and discriminated against.

Because of this, the DOH had introduced the “test and treat” strategy wherein those who tested positive will immediately be advised to undergo counseling and referred for treatment.