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BY BOY RYAN ZABAL
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Wednesday, February 1, 2017
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KALIBO, Aklan – An organization of gay people supports the proposed distribution of free condoms in schools as part of the campaign on sexual health and HIV prevention.
Aklan Butterfly Brigade believes the initiative of the Department of Health (DOH) will minimize unwanted pregnancies and the spread of HIV, which causes the still incurable AIDS, among the youth.
But it must be “accompanied by the guidance of parents and guardians,” said Rob Bastareche, an organization member.
Before they are given access to condoms, students will undergo peer counseling and sex education. Specifically, they will be taught how to use condoms effectively, according to the DOH.
The Department of Education said it will hold “thorough and careful” discussions with the DOH regarding the plan.
Teenagers are among sectors vulnerable to HIV infection.
In November last year, 36 adolescents aged 10 to 19 years old were reported to have contracted the virus through sexual contact, according to the HIV/AIDS and ART Registry of the Philippines (HARP).
In the same month, 758 new HIV infections in the Philippines were reported, 89 percent of them were asymptomatic, while 11 percent were engaged in transactional sex, or those who pay for sex or regularly accept payment for sex, or both.
From January 1984 to November 2016, there were 38,872 HIV cases and 1,932 HIV-related deaths in the country, the HARP said.
Transmission was dominant among males who have sex with males (82 percent), followed by male-female sex (13 percent). (Aklan Forum Journal/PN)
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