Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral yesterday said there has been a very drastic increase of HIV-AIDS cases in the Philippines in the last three years, which include workers at call centers.

“The Philippine General Hospital infectious disease experts have noted that many young adults who come to consult them for HIV-AIDS are call center agents,” said Cabral, who was in Bacolod City for the groundbreaking of the Bacolod Heart, Lung and Kidney Center at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital compound in Bacolod City.

It is not the fault of the call centers, but of risky behavior that young adults engage in, which include sex, smoking, drinking, lack of sleep and lack of exercise, she said.

She said the Department of Health and the Department of Labor and Employment have put out a joint memorandum on safety in the workplace not only on HIV-AIDS but other sexually transmitted diseases.

There have  been drastic increases in HIV-AIDS in the Philippines   from three years ago when one case of HIV-AIDS was diagnosed a day, then   two cases a day last year, and in the last month of 2009 four cases everyday, she said.

In January this year there were 4.7 cases of HIV-AIDS cases a day diagnosed, she added.

Cabral said government distribution of condoms is an ongoing project that happens in social hygiene clinics of local government units.

The DOH provides the material resources as well as the technical assistance to LGUs with a grant from the Global Fund to fight HIV-AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria for their social hygiene clinics, she said.

The condoms will be used by the most at risks population, which included commercial sex workers, men having sex with men, injecting drug users and spouses of HIV positive individuals, particularly Overseas Filipino Workers, she said.

She said condoms will be distributed despite opposition from the Catholic Church. “I have a job to do and that includes protecting people from sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV-AIDS,” Cabral said.*CPG

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