Philippines’ alarming HIV surge ‘highest in the world’, with youth hit hard

Young people are driving the surge in new cases, say health officials, amid efforts to reduce stigma, improve outreach and testing options

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A patient waits in line at a social hygiene clinic in Quezon City. Only 27 per cent of Filipinos were aware of social hygiene clinics, a Department of Health survey found. Photo: AFP

Published: 12:00pm, 9 Jun 2024

For Chris*, a 25-year-old university student in Manila, it began with an unusual rash on his chest. “At first I thought it was just a rash from a soap my mum bought me,” he told This Week in Asia.

Days later, he would frequently feel fatigued, and suffer from fever and chills at night. When a dermatologist ruled out allergies as the cause of his skin rash, the doctor suggested that he get tested for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Chris, who declined to give his real name, is one of the growing number of individuals testing positive for HIV in the Philippines. Health officials have expressed alarm over the country’s rising case numbers, which at 55 new infections tallied daily, are among the world’s highest.

The Department of Health, in a press conference last month, said it had logged more than 3,000 new cases with 82 deaths as of March this year. A third of cases were aged 15 to 24 and 46 per cent were 25 to 34, it said.

The Philippines’ HIV and Aids Support House holds a community workshop on HIV 101. Photo: HIV and Aids Support House/Handout

The agency estimates that nearly 130,000 people live with HIV in the Philippines, which is still low for a country with a 110 million population, according to Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa.