‘Low and slow’ may turn to panic

Twenty years ago, long before the advent of SARS, the terror that smote fear in people’s heart was HIV/AIDS. Truly, it still is the first global plague, knowing no national barriers and now affecting more than 70 million people. In fact, it wins hands-down as the world’s biggest killer with already 25 million victims.

The beginnings and cure of HIV/AIDS – like SARS – is still unknown and it remains as a formidable terror. SARS may psychologically have the current edge in evoking fear because its virus is known to be transmittable by mere physical proximity to an infected person. To have AIDS, one needs much more, i.e., unprotected sex.

Alarmingly though, there are indications in the Philippines that vigilance and support for programs to prevent HIV/AIDS is slackening. It all started recently with a report by the Department of Health (DOH) boasting that it scored a feat by having one of the lowest AIDS rates in a beleaguered Asia.

According to the DOH report, the Philippines has a mere 1,810 HIV cases. If compared to existing statistics, this represents one of the lowest infection rates in the world. With this ‘achievement,’ the DOH promptly removed the disease from its priority list of concerns.

There are a number of reasons cited for the low figure. If we set aside conjectures such as Filipinos having a ‘high morality’ or are a country where the majority are Catholics and therefore fond of praying, some data presented by government appear to give a fairly logical explanation to the reported low infection rate.

DOH statistics state that heterosexual Filipinos are less enamored with brothels compared with their Thai brothers, for example. The correlation between intravenous drug use and HIV positive cases is also lower compared to other countriesí statistics.

Which is why based on data presented by government, the HIV/AIDS situation in the Philippines is often interpreted as "low and slow". The word "low" refers to the supposedly insignificant registered number of cases, and "slow" to the relatively unchanged figures over the last two decades.

Kidding ourselves about

It took an Australian national but longtime Philippine resident to point out that we maybe kidding ourselves as we boast about our achievement in handling and controlling the global terrorist called HIV/AIDS.

Earl Wilkinson, a self-proclaimed human rights advocate and social moralist, posed some disturbing questions in his book "AIDS Failure PHILIPPINES?" that could pulverize the credibility of DOH as well as question its integrity in reporting figures to international health bodies.

In his book, he highlighted what at first would appear as credible bits of data from government but, upon presentation of other facts, are actually quite illogical and contradictory. And worse, they breed frightfully dire consequences if left unchallenged.

When the DOH says that Filipinos are not as promiscuous as Thai men, they imply that female sex workers in the Philippines have fewer customers than their Thai counterparts. Not true, says Wilkinson, and goes on to say that it is a known fact that cheap sex abounds in beer gardens and nightclubs in the country.

Chastising condom

This is further aggravated by the general disregard by Filipino sex workers of the use of condom, the preventive measure that is proven and universally accepted as an effective control in the spread of HIV and AIDS, adds the 75-year old author.

It is known worldwide that the successful Thai program encouraging 100 percent use of condoms of it sex workers had a large influence in the recent actual reversal in the number of new HIV cases in the country.

In the Philippines, the campaign to use condom was discontinued after the Roman Catholic Church successfully pressured the Ramos government in the early 1990s. Wilkinson writes that the Catholic Church employed massive disinformation campaign against condom use and raised the stature of condom as a sin product.

This has resulted in fewer Filipino men now actually using condoms when having sex outside marriage. Worse, condom use by sex workers dropped to nine percent as of end 2002, from 36 percent in 1996. In a survey, more than 90 percent of the million-strong sex workers in the country said they failed to use any condom with their customers at least two times a week.

Furthermore, Wilkinson noted that sex workers are now only tested for sexually transmitted diseases but not AIDS. With AIDS testing not mandatory, it is highly probable that the official figures on infections do not actually reflect the real danger.

Ignoring realities

Already, the official UNAIDS data–culled from a reliable network of non-government institutions specializing in the delivery of counseling of AIDS victims–has placed the number of HIV/AIDS cases in the country closer to 10,000 compared to the government figure of 1,810.

Not only is there disparity in reporting statistics, there are also other signs that the government, the private sector and the public in general are still in state of denial insofar as the threat of HIV/AIDS is concerned.

For example, there is an estimated 7.5 million overseas Filipino workers in more than 150 countries and the potential for transmitting the virus when they return for home visit poses another big risk. Is there a government or private sector program to address this vulnerable group?

The warning is clearly written on the wall. The Philippines may have a low incidence of HIV cases compared with figures from other countries, but with continued and deliberate denial of prevention, the "low and slow" situation could easily turn to panic time.

‘El Nino’ on TV

Watch "Isyung Kalakalan at Iba Pa" on IBC-13 News (5 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., Monday to Friday) as we discuss the issues related to the weather phenomenon called ‘El Nino’.

Yes, despite heavy rains recently, the drought brought about by "El Nino" created havoc in several areas in the country. As a result, growth in the agriculture sector during the first quarter dropped by 40 percent compared to same period last year. We should be feeling the full impact within the next few months.

Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Edge, 4th Floor, 156 Valero Street, Salcedo Village, 1227 Makati City. Or e-mail me at [email protected]. If you wish to view the previous columns or telecasts of "Isyung Kalakalan at iba pa," you may visit my website at http://bizlinks.linkedge.biz.