Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said while these drugs do not cure HIV-positive patients, it delays the progression of the disease into full-blown Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) by blocking the virus’ ability to multiply inside the body.
An HIV-infected person has to take ARVs, which cost P1,500 a month, for life.
"The availability and access to ARVs could be the turning point for an effective treatment, care and support program for persons living with HIV/AIDS, and which infected persons have been clamoring for the last 10 years," Duque said.
He expressed hope that more infected persons would come out and seek treatment when ARVs become available and accessible.
Duque added that the DOH also intends to invest more in an education campaign to increase awareness of HIV and AIDS.
DOH records show that from January 1984 to July 2005, a total of 2,314 HIV cases were reported to the HIV/AIDS registry. Of this figure, 688 have progressed into AIDS while 268 have died.
The DOH believes that around 8,000 other cases nationwide remain unreported.
Meanwhile, Cebu Rep. Eduardo Gullas said the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will receive a total of P1.7 billion for their respective school feeding programs.
He said that apart from alleviating pervasive malnutrition among school children, these programs would induce poverty-stricken parents to send their children to school and encourage indigent pupils to stay in the classroom.
"These are intervention programs meant to ease hunger and undernourishment among children, and at the same time put in check the distressingly high dropout rate in the public elementary school system," Gullas said.
The results of a Social Weather Stations survey conducted Aug. 26 to Sept. 5 showed that nearly half of all Filipino families considered themselves poor, and 15.5 percent of households experienced hunger at least once in the last three months.
The outcome of the latest Food and Nutrition Research Institute survey also showed that out of every 100 school children aged six to 10, at least 74 are either underweight or stunted.
The institute blamed the severely inadequate weight of many school children on chronic or long-term malnutrition, and stunting on current or short-term malnutrition.
National Statistics Office and DepEd data indicate that out of every 100 pupils admitted to the first grade, at least 33 drop out of school before completing the sixth grade.
Gullas, an educator, said the P1.7-billion combined allotment for the two departments’ school feeding programs is programmed in the 2006 national budget.
He said the DepEd will receive P1.5 billion for its "Malusog sa Simula" program, which would provide 2.5 million school children aged six to 12 years with vitamin-fortified and iodine-enriched food.
Gullas said the DSWD will get another P200 million for its feeding program for pre-school toddlers.
The DSWD program will cover 64,000 toddlers in 2,170 depressed barangays in fourth to sixth-class municipalities and in daycare centers in Metro Manila.
The Civil Society Network for Education Reforms said many destitute children who ought to be in school are compelled to help their parents earn a living or forced to stay at home.