HIV cases are persons
IN A society where people base the status of a certain situation on the percentage increase or decrease of statistics, the city government of Davao City hopes to be able to identify these numbers as people and not just numbers representing something, particularly the ever-alarming HIV/ AIDS status through the Department of Health (DOH) Davao Region’s various preventive and treatment activities.
During an interview
with DOH Davao Regional STI/HIV/AIDS Program Manager Maria Teresa Requillo, she said they are aware that the cases of HIV/ AIDS in the region had been increasing and those who got infected are getting younger. DOH Davao Region has activities separated and categorized as preventive and treatment measures.
Preventing the infection
“We capacitate the health workers in various capability building like trainings on Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) and HIV, training on comprehensive HIV case management, training on voluntary counseling and testing, and then we also train peer coordinators. We orient barangay officials in order to elicit support from the local government units when it comes to HIV/ AIDS cases prevention,” said Requillo.
For this year, DOH Davao Region is coordinating with the Philippine Association of Medical Technologists, Inc. (Pamet) to include six medical technologists in Davao Region for the annual HIV Proficiency Training to be conducted in Davao City on December.
Requillo also said their office advocates Mother-Child HIV prevention wherein they encourage pregnant women to undergo syphilis testing in order to prevent congenital syphilis transmission to the infant.
Syphilis is an infection known to be transmitted through sexual activities including anal and oral sex. It may also be transmitted to an infant if the pregnant mother was positive of the infection.
“But this is voluntary. We just encourage the mothers to be tested. And with this test, the earlier, the better for earlier detection and prevention as well,” Requillo said.
Currently, an ordinance advocating 100 percent condom use for entertainment establishment is being pushed for approval for three districts in Davao City. These entertainment establishments include lodges, inns, bars, and clubs. Although, the ordinance is yet to be made mandatory and no penalties are imposed on violators, Requillo said they recommend that the establishments follow this program.
HIV/AIDS is not only an infection tormenting the person physically but it is also an emotional struggle. Because of that, DOH Davao Region aims to expand counseling and testing centers for five provinces in the region. At present, there are a total of 23 counseling and testing centers in Davao Region. Bringing the cure closer An average of 400 to 500 patients comes to be tested and cured at the Reproductive Health and Wellness Center City Health Office (RHWC-CHO) at Jacinto St., Davao City. The center has the biggest number of patient contribution in the entire Davao Region.
Requillo said this is partly because of the center’s proactive strategy which involves not anymore waiting for the patients to come to them to be tested but they go to specific areas and conduct mobile visiting. RHWC is also the only HIV/AIDS treatment hub that offers Sundown Clinic, which means they still offer testing and treatment services for patients between 6 p.m. to 12 m.n. during the third and fourth Mondays of the month.
“This initiative is for the clients who can’t go to the clinic during daytime because of the nature of their job which might hinder them
into going out during the daytime. Also, the Sundown Clinic is for those who wish to not be identified or not be seen by anyone going in the clinic for confidentiality purposes,” said Requillo.
Davao Region now has two treatment hubs including the one in Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) in J.P. Laurel, Davao City. This treatment hub entertains 60 to 70 patients on average monthly.The other treatment hub is located at the Davao Regional Medical Center in Tagum City.
RHWC is the only treatment satellite hub.
Requillo shared that they are looking forward for Davao Doctor’s Hospital’s treatment hub to be officially opened for public within the year.
“Actually more and more are visiting the testing centers for them to be tested so that means more are now aware of what HIV is. More people already know where they should go for testing. Stigma for discrimination has also lessened a bit,” she said adding they are aware that a lot has to be done still for information dissemination.
“We are doing all of these to better educate the people and to prevent them from being included in our statistics of teen pregnancy, statistics of STI, and statistics of HIV,” Requillo said.