While HIV infection rates have been dropping globally, the number of new
While HIV infection rates have been dropping globally, the number of new HIV cases in the Philippines continues to increase.
Since the first recorded HIV case in the Philippines in 1984, there has been a steady increase in the number of Filipinos being infected with HIV.
There are now 7,031 cases.
Eight hundred and seventy-five people have advanced to full-blown AIDS, and more than a third of these have led to deaths.
While other countries have either stabilized or shown significant decrease in the rate of new infections, HIV in the Philippines is on the uptrend.
It is one of seven countries that reported an increase of more than 25 per cent in new HIV infections, between 2001 and 2009.
The health department fears it will not be able to help the growing number of Filipinos getting infected.
The Philippines is already heavily dependent on international donors, like The Global Fund and USAID.
More than 800 Filipinos living with HIV get free anti-retroviral drugs from The Global Fund.
But this will end in 2012.
With barely five years into the deadline to achieve its sixth Millennium Development Goal of combating HIV and AIDS, the Philippine government has to work doubly hard to curb the spread of HIV and AIDS in the country.
But with a limited budget, the health department admits that it is finding it hard to implement a wide-scale intervention and education campaign on HIV and AIDS.
The health department is now seeking the help of non-governmental organizations and the private sector in its fight against the spread of HIV and AIDS in the country.