At least one young Filipino is infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) every hour.
This was the chilling message of National Youth Commission (NYC) Chairman Aiza Seguerra, who revealed that around 24 young Filipinos are infected with the virus every single day. Seguerra said 85 percent of new daily infections are accounted for by infections among young Filipinos aged 15 to 30.
“Of 28 Pinoys who get infected, 24 to 26 of them are from the youth. [Around] 62 of new infections [are from]…15 to 24 years old,” she said.
The increase in the number of Filipinos living with HIV has been exponential in recent years, and Seguerra attributes this to greater awareness and testing among the young. In the hopes of stemming the increase in HIV prevalence among young Filipinos, Seguerra said the NYC is now pushing for the lowering of the age limit for obtaining HIV testing without parental consent to 15 years old.
Seguerra added Filipinos are starting to experiment with sexual intercourse at a younger age. She said the NYC has received reports that some girls got pregnant at 10 years old by 11-year-old school boys. The early onset of sexual intercourse not only open young Filipinos to pregnancy, but also to sexually transmitted diseases, such as HIV, which could lead to full-blown acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Under Republic Act 8504, otherwise known as the Philippine AIDS Prevention and Control Act of 1998, Filipinos who are of legal age, or 18 years old, are the only ones who can get tested for HIV without parental consent.
“If you’re under 18, you can’t get tested without parental consent, and we all know how hard it is,” Seguerra said.
“That’s why actually we’re pushing also to lower it down, the age of testing and providing RH [reproductive health] services,” she added.
Apart from pushing for this amendment, the NYC has also outlined campaigns urging parents and children to talk and be more open about sex and its consequences.
Seguerra also said it may be wise for parents to start talking about sex and its consequences even before girls reach menstrual period.
The NYC chairman also said the government supports free HIV/AIDS testing for all. There are also free antiretroviral medicines for HIV/AIDS patients from the government.
Ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic has been part of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Philippines was considered an early achiever in terms of HIV prevalence under the MDGs period of 2000 to 2015. However, toward the last few years of the MDGs, the Philippines started seeing an increasing trend in the detection of new HIV cases.
In March 2016 the HIV/AIDS and ART Registry of the Philippines data showed there were 736 new HIV Ab seropositive individuals in the country. Most, or 97 percent, were male while the median age was 28 years old, with HIV positive individuals aged 8 years to 63 years old.
More than half belong to the 25 to 34 year age group, while 27 percent were youth aged 15 to 24 years.
The regions with the highest number of reported cases for March 2016 were the National Capital Region with 284 cases, or 39 percent; Region 4A with 94 cases, or 13 percent; and Region 3 with 82 cases, or 11 percent.
In Region 7 there were 71 cases, or 10 percent of the total; Region 11 with 65 cases, or 9 percent; and 140 cases, or 19 percent, came from the rest of the country.