Following a spike of Human Immunodeficiency Virus cases nationwide, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is urging the Department of Health, the Department of Education, and the Commission on Higher Education (to strengthen interventions protecting the youth from sexually-transmitted diseases.
Gatchalian, chairman of Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture, entails the full implementation of the Philippine HIV and AIDS Policy Act of 2018 (Republic Act 11166).
At the end of 2019, the DOH’s Epidemiology Bureau reported that 36 new cases were recorded per day, higher than the 35 new cases recorded in July 2019 and the 32 cases documented every day in 2018. Macon Ramos-Araneta
A 2019 report by the Joint United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) revealed that there are approximately 77,000 people living with HIV in the Philippines, more than 19,000 of which belong to the 15-24 age group.
The UNAIDS also identified the Philippines as the country with the fastest growing number of HIV cases. Between 2010 and 2018, new HIV infections spiked from nearly 4,400 to more than 13,000 or 203 percent. Among these new infections were men who have sex with men (MSMs) which accounted for 81 percent. Macon Ramos-Araneta