Sex and Sensibilities: What’s up with the Philippines’ 534% increase in HIV cases?

What led to this and what can we do about it?

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS or UNAIDS reported a 534% increase in HIV cases in the Philippines from 2010-2023, and the Philippine health department tallied 139,662 reported cases of people living with HIV as of September 2024.

A lot of these cases were observed in the 15-24 age group, and the most common transmission was unprotected sexual contact among men who have sex with men. While the figure seems small compared to the population, the huge increase is still worrisome.

What has led to this?

In this episode of Sex and Sensibilities, Rappler sex and gender columnist Ana Santos talks about what we can do about the silent epidemic in the country and how sex education can help alleviate the situation.

Because, after all, the HIV problem in the Philippines is not just a health issue but also an issue of stigma, lack of education, and lack of access to right information. – Rappler.com