Each local government needs the group to ensure that advocacy
campaign is funded, said Roderick Boyd Cerro, chief of the DOH regional
epidemiology and surveillance unit during the council’s creation in Leyte on
Friday.
“This council monitors our action taken to address HIV and AIDS.
Their task is to find out if programs are properly done or if it needs
enhancement,” Cerro said.
The Leyte provincial council, chaired by the governor, has members
from the provincial board, health office, social welfare, interior and local
government office, education department, a representative from an organization
of persons with HIV, and an official of faith-based organization.
“We want the council to localize their action in the prevention
and control of the deadly disease. As a council, their function is to guide the
province on what should be done on its advocacy campaign through the various
committee created,” he added.
The council will also make sure that medical assistance is
regularly provided to those who are living with the disease.
As of May 2018, the region has 664 HIV and AIDS cases recorded by
the DOH since 1989. Of this number, 343 cases were recorded in Leyte province.
About half of the infected persons are 25 to 34 years old while 34
percent of victims are 15 to 24 years of age.
The practice of unsafe sex, those with risky sex behaviors and
having sex with multiple partners, are among the reasons why cases of HIV and
AIDS have increased in the region. Most of the victims are males and the
youngest victim is 15 years old.
The DOH also diagnosed a two-year-old child who acquired the disease through a mother-to-child transmission.
The DOH also diagnosed a two-year-old child who acquired the disease through a mother-to-child transmission.
From January to May 2018, the DOH recorded 94 new cases coming
from the cities of Tacloban, Calbayog, Ormoc, Catbalogan and Baybay, and the
municipality of Palo in Leyte. (RTA/PNA)
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