BAGUIO CITY (PIA) – Strong collaboration, improved services, and continuing advocacy by government agencies and community-based organizations are being pushed to achieve HIV response goals in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
The Regional AIDS Assistance Team (RAAT) in a recent meeting discussed about educating the public and ensuring HIV-friendly workplaces.
“Education and policy go hand in hand, by providing accurate information and creating safe spaces, we not only prevent infections but also break the stigma surrounding HIV,” said Darwin Babon, National AIDS, STI Prevention and Control Cordillera Program Manager.
The Commission on Higher Education and Department of Education committed to enhance HIV education in schools, equipping teachers with the training and resources needed to discuss HIV accurately and sensitively.
Department of Labor and Employment reaffirmed its commitment to enforce workplace policies that protect employees living with HIV.
The team also tackled deploying mobile HIV testing services to reach more communities, strengthening referral systems for newly diagnosed individuals, and enhancing adherence counseling to reduce Lost to Follow Up rates.
Babon explained the 95-95-95 target, a set goal to end the HIV-AIDS epidemic by 2030. This aims to ensure that 95 percent of the estimated people living with HIV (PLHIV) know their status, 95% of those diagnosed linked to treatment, and 95% of those treatment achieve viral suppression.
He reported that HIV cases are continuously increasing since 2021. Predominantly affected are males. 81 percent were males having sex with males, 48 percent of the cases belong to age group 25-34 years old, 5% case fatality rate
The Cordillera region has estimated 2,120 PLHIVs As of December 2024, 57% of the estimated PLHIVs have been diagnosed, of which 71% are receiving Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART), and 60% have achieved viral suppression
He said the region stands at 57-71-60 in the 95-95-95 HIV Care Cascade last 2024, an evident increase from records two years back.
“We achieved 60 percent accomplishment, the highest so far that we have achieved since 2005. In 2022, our accomplishment for viral suppression is only at 17%. In 2023, we ended the year with 24 % while for 2024, we ended the year with 60 percent, one of the highest in the country,” Babon said.
The meeting spearheaded by DOH-CHD-CAR was attended by partners from various HIV Treatment Hubs, CHED, DepEd, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Social Welfare and Development, DOLE, Philippine Information Agency, National Youth Commission, and representatives from community-based organizations. (JDP/MAWC-PIA CAR)
