Number of HIV-positive OFWs on the rise – TUCP
The number of HIV-infected overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) may top the 3,000-mark this year due to the government's “inadequate” information drive, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said Sunday.
In a statement, TUCP head Ernesto Herrera particularly zeroed in on the Department of Labor and Employment, (DOLE), which he said was not doing enough preventive education campaigns regarding the dreaded HIV.
“It would seem that the DOLE has been inadequate when it comes to raising awareness of HIV, both among outbound and returning OFWs,” said Herrera, a former senator who headed the Senate committee on labor, employment and human resources development.
Herrera said under the 1998 AIDS Prevention and Control Law, the DOLE, through the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, is duty-bound “to ensure that all OFWs shall undergo or attend a seminar on the cause, prevention and consequences of HIV/AIDS before certification for overseas employment.”
Herrera made the statement as the number of OFWs known to have been found HIV-positive reached 2,800, with the addition of 162 new cases from January to March this year.
“This is very sad because many OFWs who are getting infected are at the prime of their lives in terms of productivity,” said Herrera, adding that 81 percent of all HIV-positive OFWs, or 2,264 cases, are males with the median age of 34 years.
OFWs now comprise some 16 percent of the aggregate 17,948 cases in the Philippine HIV and AIDS Registry, Herrera said.
HIV causes the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). While the disease does not have any known cure, the World Health Organization (WHO) says “huge reductions have been seen in rates of death and suffering when use is made of a potent antiretroviral regimen, particularly in early stages.”
According to the Philippine HIV and AIDS Registry, some 98 percent of all HIV-positive OFWs, or 2,735 cases, acquired the virus as a result of high-risk sexual contact. —KBK, GMA News
In a statement, TUCP head Ernesto Herrera particularly zeroed in on the Department of Labor and Employment, (DOLE), which he said was not doing enough preventive education campaigns regarding the dreaded HIV.
“It would seem that the DOLE has been inadequate when it comes to raising awareness of HIV, both among outbound and returning OFWs,” said Herrera, a former senator who headed the Senate committee on labor, employment and human resources development.
Herrera said under the 1998 AIDS Prevention and Control Law, the DOLE, through the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, is duty-bound “to ensure that all OFWs shall undergo or attend a seminar on the cause, prevention and consequences of HIV/AIDS before certification for overseas employment.”
Herrera made the statement as the number of OFWs known to have been found HIV-positive reached 2,800, with the addition of 162 new cases from January to March this year.
“This is very sad because many OFWs who are getting infected are at the prime of their lives in terms of productivity,” said Herrera, adding that 81 percent of all HIV-positive OFWs, or 2,264 cases, are males with the median age of 34 years.
OFWs now comprise some 16 percent of the aggregate 17,948 cases in the Philippine HIV and AIDS Registry, Herrera said.
HIV causes the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). While the disease does not have any known cure, the World Health Organization (WHO) says “huge reductions have been seen in rates of death and suffering when use is made of a potent antiretroviral regimen, particularly in early stages.”
According to the Philippine HIV and AIDS Registry, some 98 percent of all HIV-positive OFWs, or 2,735 cases, acquired the virus as a result of high-risk sexual contact. —KBK, GMA News
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