Cotabato City residents urged to do 'ABCD' vs HIV, AIDS

COTABATO City, Philippines - The regional office of the Department of Health (DOH) in Soccsksargen is urging residents of Cotabato City to do the ABCD against sexually-transmitted diseases particularly HIV and AIDS.

Jenny Ventura, spokesperson of the regional DOH office, said prevention of the spread of HIV and AIDS is something the health department cannot accomplish alone.

Ventura said that they are now looking for ways on how to convince the residents of Cotabato City to help them fight against the dreaded diseases.

The regional DOH office had earlier announced that eight residents of Cotabato City have been tested positive for HIV.

Ventura said that to prevent acquiring HIV and AIDS, the regional DOH office is urging the city residents to do the “ABCD” approach.

“Letter A is for `abstention’ from sex, especially for the younger ones if they aren’t sure of the health of their partners," Ventura said.

She said the letter B stands for "Be Faithful” to partners, Letter C is for "Condom Use" and Letter D is for "Drug Use’ prevention.

"These are very effective ant-HIV measures,” Ventura said.

She said that there are validated facts on how the use of condoms has lowered the incidence of sexually-transmitted diseases, including HIV infection, in some countries.

Ventura said people with problems on STD can seek help from offices of the DOH.

“Confidentiality shall be observed in the department’s dealings with people afflicted with HIV or those who already have Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or AIDS,” she said.