MANILA, Philippines — Deaths due to the human immunodeficiency virus declined by around 48% from January to November 2022 compared to the same time period in 2021, new data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed.
The government statistic body recorded 470 HIV-related deaths in 2022 compared 911 logged in the same time period in 2021.
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Similarly, deaths due to intentional self-harm fell to 2,673 in 2022 from 4,160 in 2021, showing a 36% drop.
Data on causes of death were obtained by the government statistics authority through deaths registered at government registrars, according to the PSA.
A law to help address problems with HIV prevention — Republic Act No. 11166, or the Philippine HIV and AIDS Policy Act — was signed in 2018.
The Department of Health (DOH), however, previously reported a 21% increase in new HIV cases in 2022 compared to the previous year. In January 2023, the DOH counted nearly 1,500 new HIV cases.
RELATED: HIV cases up 21% in 2022
Meanwhile, COVID-19 deaths declined by 85% in 2022 compared to the same time period in 2021. This made COVID-19 drop to 11th place from 3rd behind other leading causes of death in the Philippines, lower than tuberculosis (10th) and lung diseases (7th).
Ischaemic heart diseases remain the top cause of death, accounting for 18% of all deaths in the country or 103,628 incidents.
The second top cause of death, meanwhile, are cerebrovascular diseases (10%). At least 57,411 Filipinos succumbed to cerebrovascular diseases in 2022 compared to 79,939 in 2021.
Other major causes of death are neoplasms (10%), diabetes (6%), hypertension (6%) and pneumonia (5%). — Cristina Chi