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DOH: HIV is an ‘evolving’ PH epidemic
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The Department of Health (DOH), on Tuesday reiterated that HIV was an evolving local epidemic in the country as the number of cases continues to steadily rise.
During the Senate Committee on Health and Demography hearing on Tuesday, data shared by the DOH showed there were already 217,700 people living with HIV (PLHIV) in the country.
There were also 30,800 new HIV infections recorded annually, and 2,300 AIDS-related deaths recorded in the same year.
The same records shared that by 2030, the number of PLHIV could climb up to more than 457,000.
“Globally, annual new infections and AIDS-related deaths are on a steady decline, including the Asia and the Pacific region. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for us in the Philippines. The AIDS-epidemic model reveals that there is a 555% increase in new infections and 667% increase in AIDS-related deaths between 2010 and 2024,” said DOH Epidemiology Bureau Senior Health Program Officer Dr. Noel Palaypayon.
“This means that we have an evolving local concentrated epidemic that requires sustained and intensified interventions,” he continued.
DOH HIV Program Manager Dr. John Derek Junio also noted that there were still significant gaps with DOH’s current performance on meeting the UNAIDS 95-95-95 AIDS epidemic targets.
The 95-95-95 target aimed to have 95% of PLHIV diagnosed, 95% of diagnosed PLHIV to be on antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 95% of ART patients to achieve viral suppression all by the year of 2030.
“As of October 2025, the current performance in terms of the 95-95-95 is at 60%-64%-59%... Our vision is to have 0 new infections, 0 aids-related deaths, and 0 stigma and discrimination by 2030, with the goal of reducing mortality, reducing new infections, and 0 catastrophic costs,” Junio said.
He noted that the DOH is recalibrating their strategies and finalizing plans for HIV and STI response for 2026 to 2030. — LA, GMA Integrated News
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