Metro Manila and nearby districts have now been designated as a priority area for HIV intervention after reports showed that 51 percent of HIV cases in the country are within the NCR region.
Before this, the UNAIDS 2012 Global Report also named the Philippines as one of nine countries with HIV incidence growing by more than 25 percent within the period of 2001 to 2011.
Furthermore, HIV cases in the country have grown by 1,250 percent from October 1984 to September 2012. There are 353 HIV-related deaths that have been reported since 1984.
Dr. Eric Tayag of the Epidemiology Center expressed their hope that the RH Bill would soon be passed into law in order for sex education to be implemented in schools and to help alleviate the growing number of cases of HIV/AIDS, Interaksyon.com reported.
