preview

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ( HIV ) : What Is The Cases Of HIV?

Decent Essays

INTRODUCTION
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) caused by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) have always plagued the globe. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Health Observatory (GHO), there are 36.9 million cases of HIV infections throughout the globe by the end of the year 2014 and 0.08% of adults with ages 15-49 years old are infected with HIV (World Health Organization, 2016). Also, according to the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), there was an average of 30,000 (23,000- 58,000) cases of HIV in the year 2013 in the Philippines; 37,000 (27,000- 83,000) in the year 2014; and 42,000 (30,000- 120,000) in the year 2015 (UNAIDS, 2016). According to the Philippine Canadian Inquirer, the …show more content…

Aside from the nature of HIV itself, social factors have also contributed to the prevalence of AIDS. These factors include ignorance or misinformation, deficiency of resources, apathy and malpractices. HIV and AIDS awareness is important in preventing more cases of infection and in managing already existing cases. Most people do not have enough knowledge about HIV and AIDS thus they do not know how to protect themselves. Different campaigns aimed at educating the people include the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) HIV and AIDS program by the DOH and the Text HIV 28504 by the Philippine National AIDS Council and Globe Communications. In spite of these efforts, the prevalence of HIV continues to rise. Concerning the resources allotted for the HIV-infected population, the Department of Health seeks Php 600-million funds. According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer through Inquirer.net, DOH ex-Secretary Jannette Garin said that the cases of HIV in the Philippines will reach 133,000 in 2022 and the out-patients’ HIV package will cost the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) Php 4-Billion (Inquirer.net, 2015). Another concern is the accessibility of Antiretroviral Therapy and Testing Centers for HIV. Although testing for HIV and acquisition of ART is free in the Philippines, it is a different case for many countries especially for those in the Africa. An aggravating factor too is that AIDS patients suffer from the

Get Access