DAVAO CITY- Media will play an important role in inculcating awareness and educating people in the prevention of HIV/AIDS (Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome).
We really urge the media to reach out. Says Melvin Borres, executive director of the Mindanao AIDS Advocates Association.
One of the high-risk sectorsare those engaging in men having sex with men (MSM).
Borres says they have been reaching out to that particular sector but it seemed they are not listening. He says media will now play a key role in reaching out to them.
According to the data from the Reproductive Health and Wellness Center of the Davo City Health Office from 1984 up to the present there were about 962 HIV/AIDS cases in males as compared to only 53 among females.
From January to March of this year there were about 88 males with HIV/AIDS and only one female.
Of the 1015 cases of transmission about 500 are homosexual transmissions.
Borres said that media is also important since new cases were recorded in far-flung areas like Compostela Valley. In the past most of the cases were in Davao City where people can easily access health services.
JordanaRamiterre M.D. head of the RHWC said that in the 1980s most of the cases were heterosexual transmission. But in the 1990s there was a shift to MSM transmission.
According to the RHWC, MSM are easily susceptible to HIV infections since they are mostly practicing anal sex. Anus have no natural lubricants and in the process of intercourse could easily wound sex organs thus opening entry points for the HIV which are carried by the semen. (PIA/RG Alama)
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