DOH sees more than 200,000 HIV cases in PH by year end

The total cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the Philippines may surge up to 215,400 by the end of 2024, the Department of Health (DOH) said Sunday.

Based on DOH’s latest data, there were 4,595 confirmed HIV-positive individuals reported from July to September 2024 alone. Of them, 1,301 (28%) had an advanced HIV infection at the time of diagnosis.

There were 50 HIV cases also recorded in the country on a daily average.

Of the new cases, 4,362 (95%) were males while 233 (5%) were females.

By age group, 24 cases were less than 15 years old at the time of diagnosis; 1,472 were 15-24 years old; 2,179 were 25-34 years old; and the rest were 35 years old and older.

Cumulatively, at least 139,662 confirmed HIV cases have been reported to the HIV/AIDS and ART Registry of the Philippines since the first case was detected in the country in 1984.

In light of World AIDS Day, the DOH said it officially launched the “Undetectable = Untransmittable Campaign” in a bid to curb the rising numbers, to fight the stigma associated with the virus, and to raise awareness about prevention, testing, and treatment for HIV.

“This intensified campaign is to alleviate the latest Philippine HIV estimates that show that by the end of 2024, People Living with HIV (PLHIV) in the country is estimated to hit 215,400 count,” the agency said.

Citing the AIDS Epidemic Model, the DOH warned that the cases may soar to 448,000 by 2030 if prevention and interventions won’t scale up.

HIV cases in the country dropped sharply during the height of the pandemic to 8,031 in 2020 from 12,723 the year before.

Since then, the numbers have been on an upward trend, with 12,329 in 2021, then 14,935 in 2022, and eventually to 17,254 in 2023.

The UN's children's fund has raised the alarm over the high rate of new HIV infections among young women and girls, warning they lacked access to prevention and treatment.

"Children and adolescents are not fully reaping the benefits of scaled up access to treatment and prevention services," said UNICEF associate director of HIV/AIDS Anurita Bains.

"Yet children living with HIV must be prioritized when it comes to investing resources and efforts to scale up treatment for all, this includes the expansion of innovative testing technologies."

Health Secretary Ted Herbosa thus stressed that early detection is key to managing the virus and improving health outcomes.

“Practice safe sex, regularly undergo HIV testing, and encourage all your peers to do the same,” he said in a statement.

“It is only through collective action that we will be able to end the HIV epidemic in the country. We must all work together to ensure that those who need it most–especially our PLHIVs and other key populations–are able to access our HIV services without difficulty or stigma,” he added. — BAP, GMA Integrated News