Department of Health Caraga Mobilizes Campaign for AIDS Candlelight Memorial 2017

The Department of Health this year will observe the AIDS Candlelight Memorial Day with the global theme: “End AIDS Together.”

The event aims to give tribute to those who died from the diseases and continuously provide platform for HIV and AIDS awareness.

The Department of Health Caraga joins the purpose through a “Walk for A Cause” on May 25, 2017. The activity is scheduled to start at 4:00 p.m. from Agusan del Norte Provincial Capitol and ends at Guingona Park at the central part of the city. A program proper will follow thereafter with the lighting of candles as the highlighted event. The event will be participated in by other invited national government agencies, representatives from the local government units, private and public hospitals and other identified stakeholders.

According to the DOH the about 36.7 million people living with HIV today, the AIDS Candlelight Memorial serves as an initiative for global solidarity while shattering the barriers of stigma and finally giving hope to the future generation.

As of February this year, DOH said, 849 cases have been tallied at the national level through the STD/AIDS Cooperative Central Laboratory (SACCL). This is 13 percent higher compared to the same period last year with a record of 751.

At the regional level, as of February 2017 eight new confirmed cases were reported, which now totals to 348 (cumulative data since 1995). DOH said that this was 33.3 percent compared to the same period last year with six. All 8 cases were males age range from 25-34 years old.

Of the 348 cases (from 1995 to February 2017) there were 31 reported HIV-AIDS related deaths. Their overall data according to the DOH, shows that 25-34 age group had the most number of cases which is 176 (51 percent) with 18 year-olds as the youngest and 67 as the oldest. Most of the cases 329 (94.5 percent) were males while 19 or (5.5 percent) were females.

The reported modes of transmission were mostly through sexual contact (346). Homosexual contact 170 or (49 percent) was the predominant mode of sexual transmission. Most of the cases, 322 (93 percent) were still asymptomatic at the time of reporting.

Butuan City topped the cases in the region with (126) followed by Surigao del Sur with (66) and Agusan del Sur with (64).

The AIDS Candlelight Memorial started in 1983 and usually takes place on the third Sunday of the month of May and is led by a coalition of more than 1,000 community organizations in more than 100 countries including the Philippines.

”We want to highlight to the community that this battle is a shared battle. We want to end the stigma on HIV/AIDS and strengthen our advocacy for HIV free counseling and testing. DOH will continue to advocate for our services and provide free medicines to those who are affected by the disease. Let us help one another by ending this cause together,” said Caraga Regional Health Director Jose R Llacuna, Jr. (Noel B. Najarro/PNA)