Interventions needed, as young people have the highest increase in HIV cases

The uptick in HIV cases shows that young people are most vulnerable.

The discourse on the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has grown over the last decade. Non-government organizations and celebrities have launched exciting campaigns to raise awareness about HIV in the mainstream media. But despite these steps forward, HIV cases in the country continue to be on the rise and have now become a problem for the youth.

Citing statistics from the Department of Health, ABS-CBN News reported that there were roughly 57 newly diagnosed cases every day from January to March in 2025 and that the Philippines now has the highest daily cases in the Western Pacific region. The article goes on to mention that there was a 500 percent increase in cases for the 15 to 25 age bracket.

What the numbers make clear is that there is a need to make the campaigns more targeted toward youth. While HIV may appear less taboo these days compared to the early 2000s, the lack of education, lack of access, and the stigma surrounding the disease still persist.

The United Nations Development Authority called for more youth-targeted efforts, especially those led by youth members themselves through Sangunian ng Kabataan representatives at the barangay level, to make HIV a normal discussion among friends.

Testing centers and social hygiene clinics for students

Social hygiene clinics and other testing centers have also placed themselves in areas near different universities to make testing more accessible to students. NGOs like Loveyourself Inc. also partner with student councils in different universities, in and outside of Metro Manila, to conduct community-based HIV screening within the campus.

These efforts are usually paired with HIV 101, which teaches young people about the basics of HIV. One important point is that a person who has HIV does not necessarily have Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). HIV is the virus that infects a person, which, when it remains untreated, could lead to AIDS. 

But HIV can be treated to prevent its development through antiretroviral therapy (ART), which entails taking daily pills of antiretroviral drugs, which lowers the amount of HIV in a person’s body. 

While there is still no cure for the virus, daily maintenance of ART can help a person living with HIV (PLHIV) reach the undetectable and untransmittable status, which means that the HIV count in a person’s body has become so low that they can no longer pass the virus to others.

HIV does not result in death, and individuals living with it can continue to lead normal lives. 

Prevention is still better than cure, though. NGOs urge the youth to practice a healthy sexual lifestyle, which involves regular testing every three to six months and the practice of safe sex through condoms and taking pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). 

PrEP is a preventative drug in the form of a daily pill, which, when taken correctly and consistently, can prevent a person from being infected by HIV for up to 99 percent. Most testing centers provide this for free since it’s becoming the most popular way of HIV prevention recently due to its effectiveness and the absence of any long-term adverse effects.

 

 

HIV does not result in death, and individuals living with it can continue to lead normal lives. 

 

 

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