No, things are not getting better.

The HIV situation of the country continues to worsen; this even as the government continues to falter in providing life-saving antiretroviral medicines to those already living with HIV in the country. In June 2019, the HIV/AIDS & ART Registry of the Philippines (HARP) reported 1,006 newly confirmed HIV-positive individuals. Nineteen percent (194) had clinical manifestations of advanced HIV infection (WHO clinical stage 3 or 4) at the time of diagnosis.

More than a third (34%, 346) were from the National Capital Region (NCR). Region 4A (15%, 155), Region 3 (11%, 114), Region 7 (8%, 78), and Region 6 (6%, 56) comprised the top five regions with the most number of newly diagnosed cases for the month, accounting for 74% of the total.

YOUNG STILL MOST AFFECTED

Notably, 296 (29%) cases were among youth 15-24 years old; 95% were male. Almost all (99%, 295) were infected through sexual contact (25 male-female sex, 193 male-male sex, 77 sex with both males and females).

Further broken down, there were 54 newly-diagnosed adolescents (10-19 years old at the time of diagnosis). Further, nine cases were 15-17 years old, and 45 cases were 18-19 years old. Almost all (98%) were infected through sexual contact (four male-female sex, 37 male-male sex, and 12 had sex with both males and females). In addition, there were three diagnosed cases less than 10 years old; all were infected through vertical transmission (formerly, mother-to-child transmission).

FOCUS ON MSM

Ninety-five percent (951) of the new cases reported in June were male. The median age was 28 years old (age range: 2-77 years old). More than half of the cases (52%, 522) were 25-34 years old and 29% (296) were 15-24 years old at the time of testing.

Sexual contact remained as the main mode of HIV transmission (98%, 983). Among the newly diagnosed, 59% (589) reported transmission through male to male sex, 26% (260) through sex with both males and females, and 13% (134) were through male to female sex.

Other modes of transmission were sharing of infected needles (1%, 9) and vertical transmission (<1%, 3). Among the newly diagnosed females for this month, five were pregnant at the time of diagnosis. Two cases each were from NCR and Region 7, and one case was from Region 6. Read more via Outrage