FOUR out of every five Filipinos with HIV, the disease that may lead to AIDS, are not aware they are infected, according to the Asian Development Bank.
Citing data from the health department's National Epidemiology Center, the bank says there were about 11,200 Filipinos with HIV at the end of 2005.
"However, as of April this year, the national registry showed that there were 2,818 people living with HIV, indicating that only one in five people could be aware of his or her HIV status," the Manila-based multilateral lender says.
Since the first recorded case of HIV in 1984, the Philippines has maintained an HIV prevalence rate of less than 0.1 percent among adults.
But the bank says the health department has conceded it can't do the job of combating the spread of HIV/AIDS alone, and that it needs the help of government agencies, private associations, and international groups to do it.
"The ability to reach out and assist overseas Filipino workers, on the other hand, is hampered by inadequate referral systems and limited access to HIV services, such as voluntary counseling and treatment," the bank says.
To raise awareness of HIV and the acquired immune deficiency syndrome in the Philippines, the bank has launched a workshop that seeks to strengthen country response to HIV/AIDS among high-risk groups.
The workshop is a part of a subproject of the bank's regional technical assistance, which is financed by the HIV/AIDS Cooperation Fund for Fighting HIV/AIDS in Asia and the Pacific and supported by the Swedish government.
According to the bank, the subproject aims to improve the effectiveness of national and local response to the epidemic among groups considered high-risk, such as intravenous drug users and overseas Filipino workers, particularly Filipino seafarers.
It also seeks to help the health department develop more practical approaches and interventions to help high-risk groups.
The United Nations estimates there are 40 million people living with HIV, and that 12,000 more are infected with the disease daily.
