ONE OF the main challenges of the Philippine government is to address the spread of HIV-AIDS while raising public awareness for the said virus.
Previously, the spread of HIV/AIDS was only largely prevalent with Men who have sex with Men (MSM) but now the Department of Health (DOH XI) has recorded new cases within the region with women and children who have been infected with said virus.
The Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit for the DOH XI Dr. Cleo Fe Tabada is worried that the spread of HIV/AIDS will now be also prevalent with females and children.
“The sad part is that HIV/AIDS is already starting to affect females and children because some of the MSMs are married or have female partners,” Dr. Tabada mentioned.
Dr. Tabada is looking forward to how the Enhanced Service Delivery is going to positively impact the government’s campaign in reducing the spread of HIV-AIDS in the Philippines.
“As of today, we have more service areas because hospitals who were previously not equipped with HIV/AIDS management services have received upgrades to their capacity like the hospitals in the provinces have been oriented on what to do if they encounter a new case,” Dr. Tabada said.
Part of the solution to curtailing the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country is being able to document the scope of infection in the population that is why the government has made huge strides in identification and diagnosis of patients affected by the said disease.
“Several years ago, if there’s a case outside Davao City it’s hard to handle because there are no available services but, at present, the Department of Health and Local Government Units have enhanced its capacity to serve even to the extent of community health centers being able to cater to individuals who wish to be tested for HIV/AIDS,” Dr. Tabada said. (By Kevin Caro)
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