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By Jay-Ar Keita The Philippines’ battle with HIV continues, as the number of newly diagnosed people living with HIV (PLHIV) remains high. According to the HIV/AIDS and ART Registry of the Philippines (HARP), an average of 30 new cases per day were reported in June 2017, only five cases less compared to May 2017's daily average.This time last year, there were 841 new cases reported. The latest data shows a 20% increase to this month’s census of 1,013. Eighty-eight percent (88%) of these were asymptomatic at the time of reporting. Stock photo / Pixabay Sexual contact remained the top mode of transmission, according to the report. Eight hundred eighteen (818) reported cases were men having sex with men (MSM), while 151 were from heterosexual intercourse. Out of the 818 MSM cases, 554 were through homosexual contact, and the remaining 264 came from bisexual contact. Also listed were sharing of infected needles with 25 cases and mother-to-child transmission with 7, while the remaining...

By Watson Vergara Everyone has talked about a particular status in his or her life, be it their relationship status, their financial status, and heck people talk about their problems on their Facebook status all the time! But one thing that’s rarely talked about is one’s HIV status. Despite its relevance today it is still greatly stigmatized and has been thought of as taboo by many. This monthly column aims to help facilitate discussion on issues surrounding HIV testing and living with HIV. According to the HIV/AIDS and ART Registry of the Philippines’ (HARP) January 2017 report , 27% of people living with HIV (PLHIV) are among 15 to 22 years old or the youth. This calls for proactivity among the youth to practice   safe sex and to get tested for HIV after three months of possible exposure. Instead of an article about the youth and their sexual health, here is a piece about the youth from the perspective of their parents. But before we dwell into that, let’s talk more about the ...

HIV/AIDS and ART Registry of the Philippines (HARP) - April 2016 Report Past HARP Reports can be accessed through this link