The Majority of HIV-Positive Patients Belong to the Young Generation in Philippines

The National Youth Commission of Philippines has found that the majority of filipinos, newly diagnosed with HIV, belong to the 13-24 age group. For example, if there are 28 HIV-positive people, only four of them wouldn’t be from the youth sector. Aiza Seguerra, the chairperson of the National Youth Commission, said that more than sixty percent of new diagnoses belong to people aged from 15 to 24 years. Actually, there is another data  from the Department of Health - it said that less than thirty percent of new HIV-positive diagnoses belong to the young people.

People under 18 years can be tested for HIV only with parental consents, according to philippine law; that fact makes testing procedure and needed treatment start harder. That also makes HIV transmission faster. Sexual contacts, especially among men who have sex with men is considered to be one of the most common ways of HIV transmission. Sharing of nonsterile used needles among drug addicted follows sexual contacts as the second way of most common HIV transmission ways. Nearly twenty thousand people with HIV positive status are drug users in Philippines.