MORE than P1 billion has been budgeted by the government to stop the spread of HIV-AIDS and treat those who are already afflicted by the disease next year.
This is “the price that the Philippines has to pay for reportedly having one of fastest-growing HIV epidemics in the world,” a Senate leader said on Saturday.
Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto said the budget for combating HIV-AIDS is pegged at P1.08 billion for 2016, almost double the amount allocated this year.
It will fund treatment and testing of 35,000 confirmed and suspected cases, Recto said, citing a Senate briefer on next year’s public health spending.
Half, or P500 million, of the HIV-AIDS fund will be used to buy anti-retroviral drugs. The rest will go to test kits and reagents (P250 million), surveillance (P50 million) and local prevention programs (P200 million).
“I have been told that this budget might not be enough, if taken against the growing patient base,” Recto said.
Recto added that this “budgetary item may have to be increased because other diseases, like dengue, are also included in the fund to combat infectious diseases.”
Despite global decline in new HIV infections, the Philippines is one of few countries posting monthly increases of new reported cases, Recto said.
There were 772 new cases in June, the highest on record, bringing to 26,456 the number of cases recorded in the national HIV registry since the tally was made in 1984.
“Many health experts who have appeared before congressional hearings are one in saying that this could just be the tip of the iceberg,” Recto said.