Thirty years later, with Facebook, decades of AIDS research, a tighter-knit international community, and a widely established anti-retroviral therapy, the Philippines is undergoing the same epidemiological patterns as the US.

The rise among men who have sex with men

Statistics show that the virus has taken hold of the demographic of men who have sex with men. In the government’s HIV registry for January 2013, there were 380 people registered as newly diagnosed with HIV; 93% percent were males. The most dominant form of transmission was via sex of males with other males at 82%, followed by people who inject drugs through shared needles.

The data provides two perspectives: one that shows the HIV prevention advocacy is working well because people, especially the key affected population (KAP) of males who have sex with other males (MSM) are getting themselves tested, and another that says more people are engaging in sexual activities without protection that increases their risk of exposure to HIV.

No condoms, baby

This controversial contraceptive has sparked debates for decades in the Philippines. Despite its acceptance in the international community for its benefits in HIV prevention and that of other sexually transmissible infections, as well as unplanned pregnancies, its rejection by religious groups still proliferates today. One fact in all of this is not using condoms increases the risk of transmitting HIV.

Dr. Eric Tayag of the Department of Health previously mentioned the preference of the MSM community to perform “bareback” or anal sex without protection as one of the results of the obvious lack of correct information about the use of condoms. According to Dr. Tayag, this has driven the numbers to their consistent record highs.

We have yet to find out what the condom preference is of the heterosexual demographic in their activities in bed and what it means for the Philippines in general.

Let’s pick up the pace

The national program on HIV prevention and control is currently handled by the DOH in partnership with ASP. They provide education to the KAPs of MSM and people who inject drugs under a package of services that cover HIV 101, condoms, lubricants, and information distribution. Other efforts include online HIV education, also under ASP, and the involvement of community-based organizations under the ISEAN-HIVOS project handled by the Philippine NGO Council on Population, Health and Welfare (PNGOC).

Only with the passage of the Reproductive Health Law did the discussion of age-appropriate education on reproductive health take off. But as citizens, we can stand up and say to our officials that we want more. These activities, as well as more funding on HIV awareness and prevention, would potentially serve as the foundation needed to create a generation of individuals with enough information on their sexual health. Maybe then can we see more individuals who access and use condoms properly.

What you can do

Be an activist in your own way. Involve yourself by being educated and tested. Knowing how the virus works and knowing your status is the best way for you to stay healthy. Pay it forward. A way to help the HIV advocacy is by spreading the word that getting tested is vital. You can do one better by joining groups like the ASP Volunteers Circle and helping out in community outreach activities.

There are a lot of ways to help but it will always start with the individual. To stop the spread of HIV, motivation and education is the key. You can be the cure.

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Use #zeroHIVph on Twitter to join the discussion

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DOH: 12 new HIV/AIDS cases per day
by  Sheila Crisostomo (March, 2, 2013)
www.philstar.com

Photo from ASP Facebook page, lifted from registry published by NEC

MANILA, Philippines – From an average of nine new cases of HIV/AIDS a day in 2012, the Department of Health (DOH) registered 12 new cases daily in January this year.

Health Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag said these 12 new cases daily are equivalent to 380 new cases reported to the DOH’s Philippine HIV and AIDS Registry in January 2013. Of these, 25 were already AIDS at the time of reporting.

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Consistent condom use in anal sex stops 70% of HIV infections, study finds, but intermittent use has no effect
by Gus Ciarns (March 4, 2013)
www.aidsmap.com

An analysis by Dawn Smith of the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported at the 20th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2013) on 4 March has provided the first estimate of the efficacy of condoms in preventing HIV transmission during anal sex since 1989. It found condoms stop seven out of ten anal transmissions – the same efficacy found by the 1989 study.

Dawn Smith of the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) presenting at CROI 2013.

However, it also found that sometimes using condoms is not effective at preventing HIV infection, and that long-term 100% condom use is a minority behaviour: only one-in-six gay men actually managed to maintain it over the three- to four-year time frame of the analysis.

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US doctors cure child born with HIV
by Ian Sample (March 4, 2013)
www.guardian.co.uk

Mississippi doctors make medical history made with first ‘functional cure’ of unnamed two-year-old born with the virus who now needs no medication

Doctors in the US have made medical history by effectively curing a child born with HIV, the first time such a case has been documented.

The infant, who is now two and a half, needs no medication for HIV, has a normal life expectancy and is highly unlikely to be infectious to others, doctors believe.

Though medical staff and scientists are unclear why the treatment was effective, the surprise success has raised hopes that the therapy might ultimately help doctors eradicate the virus among newborns.

Doctors did not release the name or sex of the child to protect the patient’s identity, but said the infant was born, and lived, in Mississippi state. Details of the case were unveiled on Sunday at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Atlanta.

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