Subculture of HIV in the Philippines - Research Paper Example

? Subculture of HIV/AIDS population in the Philippines Subculture of HIV/AIDS in the Philippines From the oxford English dictionarywe can clearly state that subculture is a group of persons or individuals within a given larger group of people like a community but they tend to have a difference from the rest of the people in terms of their behavior, personality or general characteristic. It is a less offensive description to call indifferent people in a given society. On the other hand HIV/AIDs is an human immune system disease which is as a result of infection with human immunodeficiency virus where at the initial stages its symptoms are the likes of influenza like illness which is then followed by a dormant period where there are no symptoms (Stine, 2003). This can range from months to years in some people depending on the response of their immune system. Finally the period is followed by a period where the disease now manifests itself which is usually after the HIV has totally crippled the immune system giving opportunistic diseases a chance to infect the patient. Therefore when we take a look at the subculture of HIV/AIDS in the Philippines we are all concerned with the group of people that are different from the rest of the Filipinos and we analyze what these indifference has to do with their status or stand when it comes to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. HIV/AIDS is transmitted through various ways just but to mention via unprotected sex between two people when one of them is infected. Traditionally it was more common to hear of heterosexual infections between males and female partners but of the recent past there have been cases of homosexual cases that involve same sex partners be it male to male sexual transmission or bisexual transmissions. Another form of transmission can be through sharing of needles especially to drug addicts who mostly use them to inject drugs into their blood systems, from mother to child during pregnancy or even during delivery or at time when breastfeeding and sometimes through blood transfusion of blood that has been contaminated with the virus. According to a UNICEF report, the major contributor to new cases of infection still remains via unprotected sexual activities between partners where one is infected. According to the UNICEF Philippines report on HIV/AIDS studies carried out in 2013, while the percentage of HIV/AIDs cases in the entire nation is very low as compared to other countries, there has been a very steep increase in the report of new infection cases in the past three years with analysts stating that this is a cause for concern. A case study was done between reported new cases for two periods i.e. percentage of reported new cases in 2012 and the same but for the period 2013. What is shocking is that there has been a 79% increase in new reported cases just in a span of a year (Stine, 2003). With less than 15,000 HIV positive cases that have been reported in the Philippines between the period of 1984 to the current year 2013, what is shocking is the fact that 54% of these reported cases have been reported in the past two years. This raises a lot of questions and concerns. UNAIDS has even identified the Philippines as one among other six countries whose infection rate has sky rocketed in the entire planet. Just to make it clear is that 295 cases were reported for the month of June, 2012 which was a 66% increase as compared to reported cases of June 2011.( www.unicef.org/Philippines/hivaids.html?) this is unlike a country whose percentage of infected adults is but a mere o.1% of the adult population. With the facts in our hands we can try to analyze and see what is leading to this new epidemic in a country that initially was a low HIV prevalence country (Stine, 2003). From that cases reported between 1984 and the year 2013 we see that almost 93% of the infections reported were through sexual transmission with a very low percentage of 4% of those who were infected through sharing of needles among infected drug abusers. Also close to 1% of the cases reported were through mother to child transmission be it during pregnancy, during delivery or during breastfeeding (Weiss, 2008). Also 1% each of the cases reported was via transfusion of blood and needle pricking. This gives us a figure of close to 11200 cases of HIV infections in the entire nation of the Philippines. A large percentage of the overall infection report cases were based on sexual transmission among partners who engaged in unprotected sex. Of this number we see that around 35% were infected via heterosexual contact which means that it was between a male and a female while the same report indicates that close to 41% of the reported cases were through infection among homosexual partners with the remaining percentage of about 23% being via bisexual partners. This report clearly shows that there has been a shift in the form of transmission from the traditional heterosexual unit to a homosexual unit. According to the (pilstar.com) a Philippine newspaper, the year 2013 saw 4072 new cases reported of which 1966 cases were through homosexual contact, followed by 1280 cases through bisexual contact with 598 cases being based on heterosexual contact (Rambaut, 2004). This is a shocking 48% homosexual transmission based cases reported only in one year. The (philstar) on 1st December 2013 ran the headline “Highest monthly HIV cases recorded in October” just to show the alarming rate at which new cases were being reported especially among the homosexual community. The other big contributor to these new cases of infection as was noted by many was Overseas workers from the Philippines i.e. mostly domestic workers and sea farers. According to the Philippine insurance health corporation report, over 2100 overseas Filipino workers have been infected by the HIV/AIDs virus (Weiss, 2008). In August 2013 alone there were 30 new cases reported which collectively means that about 20% of the HIV/AIDs cases reported in the Philippines, 20% are overseas workers (Philippines HIV and AIDs Registry). Of this number the form of transmission that was highly reported was sexual transmission with a staggering 98%. This was further broken down to reveal that about 80% of this cases were involving overseas male workers whose average age was around 34 years. From the report (Philippines HIV and AIDs Registry) it is evident that the homosexual community is at a very high risk of infection based on the trends being reported. This is because even when we take a case study of reported cases in January to February for the year 2013 and compare to the same for the same duration in the year 2005 we see a 96% increase in this demographic group of homosexuals (Stine, 2003). According to the National Epidemiology Center (NEC) this is a very concerning steep increase in the reported cases among the homosexual group and has been classified as an epidemic with the hope that it will bring concerned and behavioral change to the concerned group. This is even worsened by the fact that about 38% of reported cases among the homosexual community are single whose average age varies between 19 and 33 years. This means that the scenario cannot be better since this group is still sexually active while not being bound to one partner (UNICEF Philippines). Then we take a look at the location of the said new reported cases among the homosexual community. Metropolitan Manila, Angeles, Cebu and Davao stands out as towns where there is a high risk of infection going with the number of new reported cases. Concern is raised by the fact that most of these towns have entertainment joints where sexual activities thrive with little if any cautionary measures taken. A perfect example Is a survey that was carried in Cebu where it was established that one in every three homosexuals was HIV positive which means that a third of them are infected (Weiss, 2008). Thus we can conclusively say that males are at a very high risk of infection in the Philippines in general with an even higher risk to men who have sex with other men. Things are even worse to those who reside in capital regions of the nation i.e. towns and cities. (Philippines HIV/AIDS Registry, May 2013). The other groups of people who are at a higher risk of infection are those who use injections to administer drugs to them. This is due to the fact that most areas in the Philippines have little health services meaning that access to needles is limited with a very high number of drug users sharing needles e.g. 76% of injecting drug users in the town of Cebu share needles with reported cases of transmission through this method being 1% of the users in that town alone (Rambaut, 2004). For the year 2013 alone there have been a total of 230 cases reported as having been infected through sharing of needles among drug users. This is 5% of the total infection cases reported in 2013(UNICEF Philippines). Lastly we look at the sex workers who are also at the risk of infection. Due to infrequent use of condoms by this group of people, there has been an increase in reported new infection cases.to most of them it’s an issue of getting money to help their families with little concern on infection. To them it is better to have money and survive the moment than fear for a possibility of infection in the future. This has caused some organizations and institutions to start reaching out to lend a helping hand to these women with the hope of educating them on the risks of their activity while providing support in one way or another (Rambaut, 2004). The government as a whole together with other organization has therefore started engaging with the public in a move to curb this new threat to their society which has seen around ten new cases reported daily. There have been workshops on HIV/AIDs where religious leaders and institutions are trying to reach out. They have identified that the only way to save the nation is through education which has seen stake holders come in to support the initiative. From students, religious leaders way up to the Vatican in an effort to steam the menace that is HIV/AIDs. Siliman university has been on the forefront of these with involvement in research and educating the masses about HIV (National epidemic Center Philippines). Another initiative that the country as a whole has undertaken is the debate on use of condoms and family planning. There has been concern in the past years over such a bill being enshrined in the constitution but after seeing the effect of the disease it is bound to be passed and gazette which will see to it that such topics and discussions are engaged with the public to create awareness on the same. This was initially a challenge since a very high percentage of the citizens identify themselves as Roman Catholics which condemn family planning as a whole. Now with Vatican on board it is practical to imagine that at least a solution to this stalemate will be resolved to see to it that measures that are effective are put to work. The other issue that has come to be popularized to the public is the point on testing, counseling and treatment. The government is trying to demystify the subject on HIV by encouraging counseling and testing with the chance of treatment if detected earlier to reduce chances of opportunistic diseases that worsen the situation. The government now provides anti-retroviral drugs to infected persons for free. This to them encourages willingness of people to go for testing since they have the assurity that the government is ready to help (Weiss, 2008). The other group that is now actively involved in the same is Christians in reducing stigma and reducing discrimination. This is because it was noted that religion at times promoted stigmatization and the only way to ensure the said is reduced if not terminated is to partner with faith leaders and other followers. They noted that the topic of sex can no longer be viewed as a strange and weird topic to talk about. An ideal system to exemplify culturally competent healthcare From the report we have compiled above we can clearly state that HIV/AIDs is not an individual epidemic but a disease that affects the whole community in one way or another. We might think that it does not touch us but when we think of the general economic implication it has on a nation we are bound to get concerned and do something about it. It should be a subject that we ought to discuss in the public without fear or favor with the aim of passing knowledge and advice to the people since knowledge is power. Setting up of mobile testing and counseling centers is one way to start. This ensures health services reach even the most of remote person since when he/ she is infected it not only affects her/ him but the whole society. In some countries is common to find support centers where infected people go to share and advise each other on ways to strive forward while giving each other hope of a brighter future as opposed to when people are stigmatized and left for death. This is very effective because it creates a sense of belonging and togetherness with each person feeling he/ she is important in the society. Finally there should be subsidies given towards infected people in terms of health services to encourage most of them to come out. This in one way or another reduces the risk of people who are infected from not coming out and who may be a threat to others. References A cultural approach to HIV/AIDS prevention and care: UNESCO/ UNAIDS RESEARCH PROJECT Department of health, National Epidermic Center, Philippines Hooper, E. “How did AIDS get started?” South African Journal of Science 96, Issue 6 (2000): 265-267. Rambaut, A. (2004). Posada, David; Crandall, Keith A.; Holmes, Edward C. “The Causes and Consequences of HIV Evolution.” Nature Reviews Genetics 5, Issue 1: 52-61. Weiss, R.A. (2008) “Special Anniversary Review: Twenty-five years of human immunodeficiency virus research: successes and challenges.” Clinical & Experimental Immunology 152, Issue 2 :201-210. Stine, J. (2003). Aids Update, 2003: an annual overview of acquired immune deficiency syndrome. New York: John Wiley,. Zimmer,C. (2006). “Doctor Darwin.” Evolution: Triumph Of An Idea. New York: Harper Perennial. Read More