AIDS Society Of The Philippines » Sex

Weekly finds #1

ASP — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 10:51:14 +0000

We’ve found a few interesting articles online pertaining to HIV or related topics. We think you guys might find them interesting reads.

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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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Health-seeking behavior online

ASP — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 08:59:48 +0000

The need for a stronger concept of health-seeking behavior is now. Not even the rise of sexually transmissible infections nor the continued delay in the youth’s proper sexual health education should prevent anyone from seeking medical attention . The actual necessity falls under the fact that transactions for sex (either casual or in exchange for something else) are easily made via online social networks (NDHS 2008, NSO).

More than a body: A campaign poster from "I am C.H.A.M.P." by ASP

Dr. Isabel Melgar, clinical psychologist and consultant of the AIDS Society of the Philippines (ASP) who has been involved with HIV and AIDS work in the Philippines, stressed the need to prioritize action in this field, emphasized the importance of accessing online social networks for pushing the advocacy of the importance of sexual health-seeking behaviors. “The process of socialization is accelerated on the internet. When it becomes sexual, with goals that will eventually lead to sex, you intervene in that world wherein they operate,”

With this reality, the ASP responds with campaign posters, designed to target the public who frequent online media. “I am Campaigning Health As My Priority or “I am C.H.A.M.P.” was created to facilitate this movement. The concept is to tackle social issues such as same-sex practice, gender roles, sexual health, sexuality, and reproductive health and utilize social networks as avenues for putting up the posters. All of these are steered towards the promotion of invoking the public to take on the responsibility of securing the future of their sexual health.

To follow the campaign, check out the ASP Facebook page.

http://facebook.com/aidsphil

iCON Clinic

ASP — Tue, 08 May 2012 02:47:37 +0000

We’re finally open!

On May 19, 2012, ASP iCON Clinic will be open to help you with your concerns about your sexual health. We offer to provide you quality clinical service, keeping in mind your need for confidentiality and comfort. Where else would you want to know about the status of your sexual health but with the experts in the field?

The clinic is at G/F OTM Building, 71 Scout Tuason St., Brgy. South Triangle, Quezon City. We are open every Friday, 5PM – 9PM and Saturdays from 10AM – 9PM. Contact us at (+63) 376-2541 or email us at asp.iconclinic@gmail.com for any of your inquiries.

Now, there’s a safe place for you.

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Playing it Safe for the Holidays

ASP — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 02:39:10 +0000

On April 5 and 6, Take The Test, with the support of the AIDS Society of the Philippines, will conduct a free mobile VCT (Voluntary Counseling and Testing) at White Beach, Puerto Galera, a prime holiday spot for locals and foreigners taking advantage of the long Holy Week vacation. People flock to the beaches of Puerto Galera to kick back, relax, and enjoy, but whether or not the fun is on the beach or somewhere more intimate, it is advisable for fun seekers to take precautions.

As a prevention site of the Global Fund and as a partner of ASP, it has been a tradition since 2009 to have a mobile VCT at Puerto Galera. With 274 new cases reported by the Department of Health as of February 2012 (6 cases more than December last year’s highest number of 268 cases), knowing one’s HIV status is essential in preventing HIV transmission, especially in a place where the sun is hot and the bodies even hotter.

But given this temptation, is it worth the risk of infection? Promoting awareness in a place where there is risky behavior is important in preventing HIV. The Lenten Season is a time for reflection, after all, not a time for infection. Take the HIV test. Party but play it safe.

Going Social to Raise Awareness

ASP — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 02:35:27 +0000

Many of the outreach effort that promotes STI, HIV, and AIDS awareness have used different media to get their messages across. Internet, particularly social media, has outgrown other forms of communication as the fastest way to readily exchange available and accessible information and ideas. However the downside of this is that it is also the medium of choice for sexual negotiations or “hooking up” among casual partners, unguarded minors and sexually active youth engaging in practices that leads them to being at risk of or vulnerable to STI or HIV infection.

AIDS Society of the Philippines (ASP) takes part by expanding outreach to the discreet population of males having sex with males (MSM) in the country emphasizing on health information and HIV education, motivating health-seeking behaviour towards accessing voluntary HIV counselling and testing (VCT).

In response to the use of the internet as a venue to hook up and have sex, ASP, with support from the Department of Health and the Global Fund, contracted online peer educators that succeeded in their approach to assimilate in chat sites and online groups gaining an average of at least 30 VCT clients in a month referred to social hygiene clinics and the ASP off-site VCT clinic conducted every first Friday and third Saturday of the month. This online peer education approach is still in its infancy but it accords huge potentials for social awareness, reaching more and more people in the viral media and confronting hidden population in Facebook and other sprouting online groups.