AS the country’s human immunodeficiency virus epidemic continues to worsen, Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte is batting for a nationwide implementation of an age-appropriate HIV education program for high school students.
“At a young age, they should be taught more about HIV and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome prevention,” she said during a forum on women and health.
As an advocate of reproductive health, she took into account the importance of raising the youth’s awareness about HIV and other infectious sexual diseases as a means to stem the seemingly unabated increase in the number of HIV infections, particularly in Metro Manila.
“I think there must be a need to raise awareness among the youth so they themselves could avoid getting the diseases,” she said.
Citing figures from the Department of Health, the vice mayor said there had been 11,103 confirmed HIV cases in 2017 nationwide, higher than the 9,264 cases recorded in 2016.
The National Capital Region has the most number of reported cases at 351 last year, she added.
February 2017, the city government launched its “HIV Program for Young Key Population in Quezon City” teaching age-appropriate HIV education module to grade eight students.
Belmonte lamented the program lacked the support of the Department of Education since it was not implemented in 2017-2018 school year.
“This is one of the things that saddens me. Since DepEd is not under any local government unit, the program’s implementation was not mandatory in schools,” she said.
But she gave the assurance the city government was active in its campaign to prevent the spread of HIV through the provision of city-operated social hygiene and sundown clinics that offer free HIV/AIDS testing, counseling, prevention and treatment.