HIV-positive OFWs may exceed 7,000

MANILA, Philippines — By the end of the year, the number of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is seen to exceed 7,000.

ACTS-OFW chair Aniceto Bertiz yesterday urged returning Filipino workers to have themselves tested amid the rising number of HIV cases among OFWs.

Based from Department of Health (DOH) data, Bertiz said the cumulative number of OFWs confirmed as HIV-positive could reach more than 7,200 by December.

From January to May of this year alone, a total of 444 newly confirmed HIV-positive OFWs were reported, or 21 percent higher compared to the 369 recorded during the same period in 2018.

The total number of OFWs found living with HIV has reached 6,699 since 1984, when the government first began passive surveillance of the virus.

“We would urge returning OFWs who suspect that they may have acquired HIV while working abroad to get themselves tested and treated early, so that they can continue to live economically productive and healthy lives,” Bertiz said in a statement.

According to Bertiz, OFWs now comprise 10 percent of the 67,395 confirmed cases listed in the National HIV/AIDS Registry as of May.

The OFWs in the registry worked abroad either on land or at sea when they were diagnosed HIV-positive.

OFWs from Metro Manila accounted for 2,157 cases or 32 percent of the total cases; followed by those from  Calabarzon with 1,162 cases or 17 percent; and Central Luzon with 790 cases or 12 percent.

Eighty-six percent of OFWs with HIV were males and 72 percent were infected through male-to-male sex.