TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol (PIA) -- The Bohol Provincial Health Office has raised the need to establish sundown clinics in the province to arrest the increase in Human-Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) cases.
Assistant Provincial Health Officer Dr. Cesar Tomas Lopez disclosed that there was an alarming spike of 193 HIV cases in the province in November 2023.
This surfaced during the recent community-based testing operations that the province conducted using its test kits.
This is on top of the cumulative 614 HIV cases recorded in the province in recent years, bringing the total to 8107 cases, said Lopez.
All local government units in Bohol have recorded HIV cases, he added.
“Part of the solution is putting up sundown clinics,” said PHO Health Care Support Division Head Dr. Emerson Mateo.
Sundown clinics
Sundown clinics serve as main clinic facilities for the diagnosis and treatment of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
They are open from 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. to cater to those who engage in unprotected sex and offer free services such as HIV screening and testing and issue social hygiene certification.
Mateo said the clinic will also offer education and counseling sessions.
He said they have submitted a proposal to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for funding of the establishment of sundown clinics to help local health authorities in addressing the increasing HIV cases.
Slow traction
Mateo and Lopez both noted that local campaigns for voluntary testing and screening have not gained the desired traction in the province.
They said the sundown clinics will help boost the campaign for effective disease prevention as most people living with HIV admit to a lack of awareness about the disease.
Mateo said Bohol also needs to start spreading awareness about HIV and AIDS in schools.
Stigma, low awareness
HIV is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system and without proper medical care, it could lead to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
Most people who are infected with HIV get it through sex, sharing needles, syringes, or other drug injection equipment.
But in the case of Bohol, health authorities believe that sexual promiscuity, unprotected sex, and low awareness have caused the recent spike.
People living with HIV and AIDS experience a high degree of stigma and discrimination, which often prevent them from accessing traditional health services.
While HIV has no cure, its spread can, however, be prevented with antiretroviral therapy (ART).
Mateo explained that ART keeps the viral load of a patient under minimum level so it could not be transmitted. (RAHC/PIA7 Bohol)
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