ABU, JEDIDIA B.

“Focusing more on prevention and cure for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired
Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in the Philippines for the year 2015-2025 through laying of strong
foundation for its widespread campaign in its prevention, cure and disseminating accurate knowledge
with a full support from the state.”

What is HIV/AIDS?

HIV attacks the body’s immune system, specifically the CD4 cells (T cells), which help the immune
system fight off infections. Untreated, HIV reduces the number of CD4 cells (T cells) in the body, making
the person more likely to get other infections or infection-related cancers. Over time, HIV can destroy so
many of these cells that the body can’t fight off infections and disease. These opportunistic infections or
cancers take advantage of a very weak immune system and signal that the person has AIDS, the last
stage of HIV infection.1

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. It is the virus that can lead to acquired immunodeficiency
syndrome, or AIDS, if not treated. Unlike some other viruses, the human body can’t get rid of HIV
completely, even with treatment. So once you get HIV, you have it for life. No effective cure currently
exists, but with proper medical care, HIV can be controlled. The medicine used to treat HIV is called
antiretroviral therapy or ART. If taken the right way, every day, this medicine can dramatically prolong
the lives of many people infected with HIV, keep them healthy, and greatly lower their chance of
infecting others. Before the introduction of ART in the mid-1990s, people with HIV could progress to
AIDS in just a few years. Today, someone diagnosed with HIV and treated before the disease is far
advanced can live nearly as long as someone who does not have HIV. 2

HIV can only be transmitted from an infected person to another through direct contact of bodily fluids
such as: Blood (including menstrual blood) Semen / cum / precum / ejaculate, Vaginal secretions, Breast
milk.3

AIDS is the most severe phase of HIV infection. People with AIDS have such badly damaged immune
systems that they get an increasing number of severe illnesses, called opportunistic infections. This is
the stage of HIV infection that occurs when your immune system is badly damaged and you become
vulnerable to opportunistic infections. When the number of your CD4 cells falls below 200 cells per cubic
millimeter of blood (200 cells/mm3), you are considered to have progressed to AIDS. (In someone with a
healthy immune system, CD4 counts are between 500 and 1,600 cells/mm3.) You are also considered to

1
Overview : About HIV & AIDS : What Are HIV and AIDS? https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-
basics/overview/about-hiv-and-aids/what-are-hiv-and-aids Access on March 26, 2019
2
Ibid
3
How is HIV / AIDS transmitted? http://sfaf.org/hiv-info/basics/how-is-hiv-transmitted.html Access on March 26,
2019
have progressed to AIDS if you develop one or more opportunistic illnesses, regardless of your CD4
count.

Without treatment, people who progress to AIDS typically survive about 3 years. Once you have a
dangerous opportunistic illness, life-expectancy without treatment falls to about 1 year. ART can be
helpful for people who have AIDS when diagnosed and can be lifesaving. Treatment is likely to benefit
people with HIV no matter when it is started, but people who start ART soon after they get HIV
experience more benefits from treatment than do people who start treatment after they have
developed AIDS.

Philippine National AIDS Council

In December 1992, the Philippine National AIDS Council (PNAC) was created to advise the government
on the development of policies to prevent and control HIV/AIDS. The PNAC is composed of high-ranking
government officials, the heads of nongovernmental organizations, members of the HIV/AIDS network,
and a representative of an organization of people living with HIV. The first two committees created by
PNAC were the Committee on Policy Development, which was charged with developing a national
prevention and control strategy, and the Committee on Law and Ethics, which promotes a supportive
legal environment for people with HIV/AIDS and provides legal support to the PNAC. This latter
committee has created an AIDS Health Rights Desk which will act from its base in the Department of
Health to provide free legal assistance to poor people whose health rights have been violated. A third
committee is being organized to help disseminate accurate information on HIV/AIDS.4

The Department of Health now ranks Philippines as one of the countries that has the fastest growing HIV
epidemic in the world with a prevalence rate of 5% nationwide. There is a 20-25% prevalence rate in
Metro Manila and 15-20% prevalence rate in Cebu. This rate dwarfed the prevalence rate in South
Africa, which has the largest population of HIV positive individuals in the world, with a mere 4.7%.
Prevalence rate refers to the percentage of individual affected by the disease at specific time. With that
in mind, we can say that right now, in a population of 110 Million Filipinos, there are 5.5 Million
individuals currently living with HIV.

4
US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12291700
Access on March 26, 2019
It is estimated that there 1,000 reported HIV cases per month since the 6 months of 2016. At that rate,
we can assume that there are 30 to 50 reported HIV cases daily. This does not include unreported cases.
Unreported cases are HIV positive individuals who do not know they are infected. The epidemic growth
rate is about 200% per year. This means that if not controlled, we could see a tenfold growth of HIV
cases (300-500 cases per day) within the next 10 years.– DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

Based on current trends, Dr. Joselito Feliciano, director of the Philippine National AIDS Council (PNAC),
said that majority of new infections were also likely to be teenagers and young adults aged 15 to 24
years old. Feliciano said the PNAC estimates about 265,900 cases of Filipinos HIV/AIDS in the next
decade if not enough is done by the government and individuals to address the growing epidemic. He
added that in 2018, as many as 32 people were diagnosed with HIV-AIDS every day.

The number is a stark contrast the the 2 new cases reported daily in 2008, 13 in 2013, and 22 in 2015.
Talking during a forum of health journalists, Feliciano said majority of new infections were among those
25 to 39 years old. The PNAC's grim scenario comes as the DOH earlier said the Philippines had one of
the ‘fastest growing’ HIV epidemics in the world with 57,134 cases recorded from January 1984 to July
2018. Feliciano also said majority of the new cases were HIV infections transmitted sexually. This topped
the number of cases as compared to other means of acquiring the infection such as sharing
contaminated needles or from birth should a mother be infected with HIV.

Rapid growing of HIV/AIDS cases in the Philippines is very alarming in todays status of its spreading. As
of today, there was no discovered cure for the virus and it makes the life of an infected person to end
quickly. In the Philippines aside from Philippine National AIDS Council of the Dept. of Health and some
non-governmental organization like Love Yourself there was no enough organization to effectively
disseminate proper and accurate knowledge about the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) especially to the minds of the youth. Part of the proposed
development plan in the Philippines is to have a strong Institution that will focus mainly on its goal to
minimize and eliminate HIV/AIDS cases in the country.

The institution is embodied with several agencies and departments of the government that will help in
the campaign. There must be also as part of the said institution that in every province there must be a
satellite centers for its mission. By this satellite centers it will disseminate information to the youth and
people of its area especially focusing on schools. A caravan or seminar must be conducted specifically
for giving proper information about HIV and AIDS. And also by seeking help through local governments
particularly in every Barangay to spread accurate informations and knowledge about the virus.

It is a fact that this main actions against HIV and AIDS is greatly centered only in urban areas. And
actions about this must be taken not only mainly in urban but also in rural areas like in the provinces
that information and knowledge about the virus always misleads.
2

Amartya Kumar Sen’s Wellbeing Approach is applicable to the case of the Philippines why? Because this
country must not only invest with its economy to help to develop, Philippines must also invest to its
people, to its population. Laying trust to people and support it needs through self progression of
everyone will help to faster and consistent nation building and also with progressive economy. As long
as the people see an equally treated society it will give them a feeling of sustainability and securing their
wellbeingness is a great way to have a progressive community. With this progressive community
negativity in life will not prosper and people makes a feeling that the government is hands on with its
goal to eradicate poverty and help them to achieve high quality of living.

2 Sustainable Development Goals: Quality Education (SDG4) and Gender Equality and Women
Empowerment (SDG5)

Quality Education (SDG4)

Quality education in the Philippines faced its turning point when K12 landscape implemented wayback
on 2014. This educational program adopts new sets of spiral curriculum for the Filipino youth. This equip
the graduates to be more competitive in a challenging world.

Gender Equality and Women Empowerment (SDG5)

The SOGIE (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression) Equality Bill, also known as the Anti-
Discrimination Bill (ADB), is a proposed legislation of the Congress of the Philippines. It is intended to
prevent various economic and public accommodation-related acts of discrimination against people
based on their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. The current versions of the bill are
championed by Kaka Bag-ao, Geraldine Roman, and Tom Villarin in the House of Representatives, and
Risa Hontiveros in the Senate. The SOGIE Equality Bill protects people from discriminatory acts such as:

Denial of access to public services

Including SOGIE as a criteria for hiring or dismissal of workers

Refusing admission or expelling students in schools based on SOGIE

Imposing disciplinary actions that are harsher than customary due to the student's SOGIE

Refusing or revoking accreditation of organizations based on the SOGIE of members

Denying access to health services

Denying the application for professional licenses and similar documents

Denying access to establishments, facilities, and services open to the general public
Forcing a person to undertake any medical or psychological examination to determine or alter one's
SOGIE

Harassment committed by persons involved in law enforcement

Publishing information intended to "out" or reveal the SOGIE of a person without consent

Engaging in public speech which intends to shame or ridicule LGBTQ+ persons

Subjecting persons to harassment motivated by the offenders bias against the offended party's SOGIE,
which may come in the form of any medium, including telecommunications and social media

Subjecting any person to gender profiling

Preventing a child under parental authority from expressing one's SOGIE by inflicting or threatening to
inflict bodily or physical harm or by causing mental or emotional suffering

Those convicted of discriminating against a person as defined in the bill shall be fined not less than
P100,000 but not more than P500,000, or be imprisoned for less than one year but not more than 6
years or both.

This law securing welfare of an individual not based on his sexual or gender preference.