[ad_1]
WHILE the country is battling the Covid-19 pandemic, the Department of Health (DOH) assured the public that the agency “remains focused and resolute” in its mandate to prevent and reduce HIV transmission as 21 new cases are reported every day.
According to the Philippine Department of Health (DOH) HIV / AIDS and ART Registry (HARP), there are a total of 81,169 HIV and AIDS cases reported from January 1984 to October 2020.
As of October 2020, there were a total of 735 confirmed HIV-positive people, 96 percent (704) of whom were men.
Among the total number of 81,169 cases diagnosed from January 1984 to October 2020, 94 percent (76,216) were male and more than half (51 percent, 41,163) were between the ages of 25 and 34 at the time of diagnosis.
The regions with the highest number of reported cases were the National Capital Region (NCR) with 30,622 cases (38 percent), Calabarzon with 12,467 (15 percent), Central Luzon with 8,005 (10 percent), Central Visayas with 6,827 (eight percent) and the Davao region with 4,477 (six percent).
Continuous collaboration
The Secretary of Health, Francisco T. Duque III, said that the 21 cases diagnosed daily in the country are a threat to public health that requires the cooperation and continuous collaboration of all local communities, civil society organizations, key populations in risk and the entire government.
“Despite the presence of the Covid-19 pandemic, we should all remain focused and determined in our mandate to prevent and reduce transmission,” Duque said.
The health chief stressed that the government will continue to provide quality HIV and AIDS-related services that are readily available, including treatment for conditions that exacerbate the spread of HIV infection, such as poverty, gender inequality. , marginalization and ignorance.
Delayed visits
Gilead Sciences, Inc. and Sustained Health Initiatives of the Philippines (SHIP) announced the results of a pulse survey conducted to assess the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on access to and delivery of HIV care, including testing, treatment and prevention. , in Asia-Pacific.
The results show that more than 90 percent of people living with HIV, as well as those at risk in the Philippines, reduced or delayed their visits to HIV clinics during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Additionally, eight out of 10 Filipino respondents were concerned about their long-term ability to access antiretroviral drugs, one of the highest percentages among all respondents in the Asia-Pacific region.
With the latest and highest rates of HIV infection in the region, the disruption caused by the pandemic may delay efforts to try to reduce this incidence rate.
The Philippines is one of 10 Asia-Pacific countries and territories that participated in the survey. A total of 1,265 respondents from the region were interviewed, including people living with HIV (PLHIV), people at risk, and HIV care providers; 153 of these respondents were from the Philippines.
An analysis of the responses in the survey provided additional information on the outages caused by the Covid-19 pandemic:
Covid-19 has had the most severe impact on HIV testing in the Philippines. The Philippines recorded the largest decrease in testing frequency among all respondent groups in the region. Access to testing was reported to be more disrupted among those at risk, with 64 percent of them reporting a decrease in testing frequency. Travel restrictions (68 percent) and point-of-care concerns (68 percent) were the main reasons for the behavior change. DOH previously expressed concern about the lack of HIV testing in the country due to quarantine restrictions and travel limitations. Newly diagnosed cases in the Philippines were down 68 percent in the second quarter of the year compared to last year, but DOH’s epidemiology office noted that there has been limited access to HIV services since March.
Covid-19 has also disrupted preventive care. More than half of at-risk respondents in the Philippines reported that they had decreased or stopped their intake of preventive medications, with 100 percent of them citing travel restrictions as the cause of the disruption.
Dr Kate Leyritana from the Philippines Sustained Health Initiatives (SHIP) shared that proper routine testing, as well as preventive care, is important for affected populations to monitor their health and avoid increased risk of health complications.
“As such, it is crucial for us to find new ways to provide support and access to appropriate HIV care when they experience such limitations,” said Dr. Leyritana.
He added that the increased adoption of telehealth services seen during the pandemic is one of those modes of care delivery and “we believe that telehealth can close the gap in access to HIV care in the long term.”
As the survey results suggest, there was an uptake of telehealth services and 70 percent of PLHIV and people at risk in the Philippines said they use telehealth services to receive care and hope to use telehealth in the future for consultations. video (45 percent) and drug replacement (32.5 percent).
“This pulse survey shows that ensuring access to critical HIV care services is a major public health priority, especially when the end of the pandemic in sight remains uncertain. Gilead is committed to working with the HIV community, from public health authorities to HIV care providers, patient groups and civil society in the Philippines and throughout the region to identify strategies that can close the gaps in HIV provision of care to ensure continuity of vital HIV care services. during these challenging times and beyond, ”said Boon-Leong Neo, Senior Director of Medical Affairs, Gilead Sciences, Asia-Pacific.
