|
AS the
world marks this week the annual global rituals of
remembering HIV and AIDS issues and the people living
them, it is well to focus on a few demographics right
here at home.
A
front-page story in this issue quotes experts saying
that whether in the Philippines or abroad, a substantive
gap is found in the failure of governments to address
children in the equation—described by some as the ones
hardest hit by the pandemic.
The
children and youth deserve special attention, explained
the experts, because not only is there need to help
those who have already tested positive for HIV or the
full-blown AIDS; there’s need for a tough, comprehensive
prevention campaign, described by one expert as “the key
to halting a potentially disastrous epidemic among
children and young people not only in the Philippines
but the whole of Asia.”
“Young
people need special attention in dealing with the virus.
They are the ones suffering the most from stigma and
discrimination,” declares Marlyn de Castro, executive
director of the Baguio Center for Young Adults, a
nongovernment group.
A child
infected with HIV faces a high chance of illness and
death unless provided with treatment, specifically with
antiretrovirals, which slow the progress of HIV
infection and allows infected children to live much
longer, healthier lives.
And yet,
say experts, the sad fact is that few children infected
with HIV actually get such life-prolonging medicines.
Globally, an estimated 2.3 million children are living
with HIV/AIDS, and at least 780,000 children need
antiretroviral (ARV) treatment, but only 115,000
children are receiving it.
De
Castro, on the other hand, cited other problems
hampering children’s access to ARV drugs—for instance,
high drug prices and the lack of health-care workers
trained to treat children.
There’s
yet another complication in the HIV/AIDS issue as far as
the Philippine setting is concerned. The past few years
have seen a steady rise in the share of migrant workers
in the national HIV/AIDS registry, and such may
logically be expected to increase, given the continuing
reliance of this country on labor exports.
Some
public-health experts had warned about this years ago,
considering the big number of returning—or even just
visiting—overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who may have
been infected through sexual dalliances abroad, and may
unwittingly be infecting their wives or sex partners. Or
even some health personnel, as well, if they take any
medical examination that could lead to accidental
infections for them (say, through syringes or sharp
devices that can cause open wounds).
Unfortunately, the risks for OFWs seem to be even
rising, considering the diversity of destinations to
which thousands of Filipinos are deployed daily, both
through the airports and seaports, and where a sizeable
percentage of the population may have either HIV or AIDS
itself.
Unfortunately again, no one in government seems to be
minding these risks, leaving us vulnerable on two
fronts: the children and youth, and the migrant workers.
|
