Press Release/26 March 2010In order to implement a more effective campaign against HIV and AIDS in the country, the Department of Health (DOH) strongly urged that information on the modes of transmission, prevention and control of this disease be integrated in the curricula of all institutions of learning. The country’s HIV and AIDS situation has reached alarming proportions as it is now described as “expanding and growing”, from the previous “low and slow” and “hidden and growing” phases.
Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral noted that risk behaviors are high among males who have sex with males (MSM), people in prostitution and people who inject drugs (PWID). This was reflected in the 2009 Integrated HIV Behavioral Serologic Surveillance results. These groups are considered the most-at-risk populations (MARPs), while young adults, overseas Filipino workers, persons with multiple sex partners, and partners of those in the MARPs are considered as vulnerable. “Education is a potent weapon in combating this disease, hence the integration in school curricula is vital”, Cabral stressed.
To address the present situation, the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher education (CHED), and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) have all integrated HIV/AIDS issues and concerns in their respective plans and activities. Local government units are assisted by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) in establishing Local AIDS Councils and launching AIDS awareness activities. The DOH, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and DILG have also entered into a Joint Memorandum Circular to operationalize the Regional AIDS Assistance Teams that will provide technical assistance to HIV prevention and control activities of LGUs. People living with HIV or the “Positive Community: are also conducting HIV education initiatives and forming support groups to other HIV-positive Filipinos and their families. Among the organizations leading this effort are the Positive Action Foundation Philippines
Inc. (PAFPI), the PinoyPlus Association and BabaePlus Association.
Rule 2, Section 6 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 8504 or the National AIDS Prevention and Control Act of 1998 provides the rationale of HIV-related education and information campaigns. It indicates that “the provision of timely, adequate, appropriate and relevant HIV education and information shall empower persons and communities to think and act in ways that protect themselves from HIV infection, minimize the risk of HIV transmission and decrease the socio-economic impact of HIV/AIDS”.
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