ASIA/PHILIPPINES - Record number of HIV cases in January alone

Manila (Agenzia Fides) – In the month of January alone, there was a record number of HIV cases in the Philippines, with 143 people infected. This is the highest figure since the disease was diagnosed for the first time in the country in 1984. According to local medical sources, since the beginning of 2009, an average of about 60 Filipinos per month have been declared HIV positive. The figure has increased significantly to 126 cases in the month of December. Concern is growing because if this were to continue over the next three years, 30,000 people would become infected. According to government figures, since 1984 the Philippines has registered 4,424 cases of HIV, of whom 832 turned into AIDS and 314 died. The Catholic Bishops of the country are battling with the local government over a law on reproductive health and sex education in favor of artificial birth control methods. The President of the Filipino Bishops' Conference, Bishop Nereo Odchimar, has criticized the government's policy on collecting funds for the distribution of condoms and has requested that those funds be allocated to fight diseases such as tuberculosis, cancer, and influenza. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 5/3/2010)