Features OpiniOn HIV among teens

In their teens, there are Filipinos who are getting infected with the human immunodeficiency virus, the Department of Health has reported. In its latest HIV/AIDS registry, the DOH reported this week that 79 Filipinos aged 10 to 19 years and seven children below age 10 were diagnosed with HIV in January alone.

Of the 86 cases, 78 got HIV through sexual contact, according to the DOH. The department reported that 65 of the infections acquired HIV through male-to-male sex, eight through sex with both male and female, and five through heterosexual contact, with most of the sexual contact unprotected or unsafe. Of the cases, 18 were 18 to 19 years old, 20 were aged 15 to 17 while two were between ages 10 and 14.

Editorial

The problem raises the need to heighten awareness of safe sex and reproductive health among adolescents. Some sectors have expressed concern that sex education can encourage sexual promiscuity among the youth. Proponents of sex education, on the other hand, argue that adolescents will explore their sexuality anyway, so it is better to provide them with proper information on safe sex, reproductive health and the risks of HIV infection and teenage pregnancy.

Before the COVID pandemic, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS had reported that the number of new HIV infections in the Philippines had more than doubled between 2010 and 2016, from 4,300 infections to approximately 10,500. The country has recorded the fastest growth rate in HIV infection in Asia and the Pacific, becoming one of eight countries that account for over 85 percent of new infections in the region, according to UNAIDS.

Last year, the DOH recorded a 21 percent increase in new HIV infections compared to 2021. In January this year, 1,454 new cases were recorded nationwide, or a daily average of 46 new infections. HIV cases in the country have shifted from female sex workers to men having sex with men.

A growing concern for health experts is the increase in HIV infections among teenagers. While new generation treatments have become available for HIV, the infection is still debilitating and can lead to death if it progresses to full-blown AIDS. Health experts are calling for a multisectoral response to the problem, from the home to schools, communities, civil society and concerned government agencies, all moving to save youths from infection. (Philstar.com)