Oscar Obenza, Jr, the lead convenor of the LGBT, Alma Mondragon of Alagad Mindanao and Dr. Jordan Ramiterre of the City Health Office briefed the media during Monday's Kapehan sa Dabaw on the HIV/Aids cases and the activities for the World Aids Day on December 1. PNA photo by Lilian C Mellejor
DAVAO CITY – The local government and activists continue to face challenges in managing infection rates of the still-incurable Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS).
Dr. Jordana Ramiterre, head of Davao City Health Office Reproductive Health and Wellness Center (RHWC), said Davao City remains one of the top cities with numerous reported cases of the HIV/AIDS in the country.
While the local government provides antiretroviral drugs to HIV patients, Dr. Ramiterre said prevention remains important through counseling and other interventions to discourage vulnerable groups-- especially young people--from engaging in risky sexual behaviors.
Ramiterre said young people in the city remain vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases (STD).
Alma Mondragon of Alliance Against AIDS in Mindanao (Alagad Mindanao), said Davao City has 2,525 reported cases of HIV infection as of July, this year.
Mondragon and Ramiterre were guest speakers during Monday’s Kapehan sa Dabaw, where they and other health advocates highlighted the challenges confronting the government and other organizations working to manage the disease and slow down runaway infection rates.
This August alone, Mondragon said Davao City recorded 34 new cases although not all patients are residents of the city.
Being the center of Mindanao in terms of health services, Mondragon said people from other provinces seek testing and treatment in the city.
She voiced alarm that the individuals diagnosed with HIV are getting younger.
Government records show that of the 2,525 cases in Davao City alone, 40 percent are within the 15–24 age group, while the 25-34 age group consists of the 47 percent.
Mondragon noted that patients within the 25-34 age group are in their productive years.
She said males make up 95 percent of the total cases and the remaining are females, bisexuals and heterosexuals.
Mondragon and Ramiterre lamented that the high infection rates remain despite the active advocacy campaigns against the disease by both private organizations and the government.
Records show that sex remains the number one mode of transmission, with men having sex with men accounting for the highest number of infections.
Both Mondragon and Ramiterre agreed that stigma and discrimination are the top reasons why patients refuse to seek HIV testing, resulting in being denied life-saving treatment.
"Many people will only get tested after becoming ill or in the advanced stage of Aids when they experience its signs and symptoms," Mondragon said.
Oscar Obenza, Jr. an advocate for the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender), said a community center has been established since last year to provide psycho-social counseling for HIV patients in the city.
Obenza said the center has been a venue for patients who otherwise would refuse to seek medical care for fear of being discriminated or ostracized. Most of the clients, he added, are LGBT members although it is open to all people.
According to Global Fund, an HIV-positive person can expect to have the same lifespan as someone who is HIV-negative and one of the cornerstones of the lifesaving treatment is the use of antiretrovirals (ARVs), a treatment which reduces the chance that an HIV-positive person will pass the virus to someone else by 97 percent. (Lilian C Mellejor/PNA)
