What's New

The epidemiology of HIV infection in the Philippines has shifted dramatically in the last five years. A combination of increased risk behavior among young Filipinos, low levels of knowledge regarding HIV transmission and prevention, and underfunded HIV prevention and treatment programs may have led to a rapid rise in HIV incidence and prevalence. Much of the increase in HIV transmission appears to have occurred among young men who have sex with men (MSM) and persons who use intravenous drugs (PWID) in major urban centers.

In December 2011, there were 268 new HIV Ab seropositive individuals confirmed by the STD/AIDS Cooperative Central Laboratory (SACCL) and reported to the HIV and AIDS Registry (Table 1). This was 54% higher compared to the same period last year (n=174 in 2010) [Figure 1]. This increased the total number of cases to 2,349 for 2011.

This document is an in-depth analysis of the data on the MSM population generated by the 2009 Integrated HIV Behavioral and Serologic Surveillance System (IHBSS). IHBSS is a biennial study of the Department of Health to collect, analyze, and interpret data on HIV and AIDS in 20 selected sites across the country. Blood samples were taken from the respondents, and the serologic result for each of them was then matched with the behavioral survey they have completed using an identification number assigned to them.

The United Nations (UN) will support national priorities by offering assistance in developing capacities required to achieve the goals and commitments embodied in the PDP and in the various international covenants the GPH is party to. The UN will work in close collaboration with development/donor partners and stakeholders, making full use of its comparative advantages as advocate for the poor and vulnerable, as honest broker, as repository of global best practices and as enabler. UN cooperation will have equity, localisation, institution-building and governance as its strategic emphases and will be anchored on the principles of human rights, gender equality, environmental sustainability, culture and development. Capacity development will be the central thrust and main benefit of UN cooperation.

The fourth round of the Integrated Biological and Behavioral Surveillance (IBBS) surveys among female sex workers (FSWs) covered a sample of 938 respondents in Kathmandu Valley – Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts and Pokhara Valley. The surveys are primarily designed to track the trends in the prevalence of HIV and syphilis infection among FSWs in these selected locations and to assess their sexual and other risk behaviors related to HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STI).

The fifth round of Integrated Biological and Behavioral Surveillance (IBBS) surveys among male injecting drug users (IDUs) covered a sample of 685 respondents in Kathmandu Valley and Pokhara Valley. The surveys were carried out primarily to track the trends in the prevalence of HIV and syphilis infection among male IDUs and to assess their sexual and injecting behaviors.

This report provides national biological and behavioural information of key populations at risk that was gathered in Round 4 of SGS, conducted in 2011. Since the previous rounds identified emerging HIV epidemics among high-risk groups, the focus of Round 4 was to ascertain the spread of HIV among these groups and to understand any changes in behaviours that increase or decrease the risk of HIV infection.

The 2011 Integrated Biological and Behavioural Surveillance (IBBS) was conducted to obtain a picture of the magnitude of the problems, risk factors, knowledge and program scope, with the aim of understanding the dynamics of the HIV epidemic in Indonesia. The 2011 IBBS was conducted in 23 cities/regencies in 11 provinces, with most of the cities/regencies selected being those also surveyed in the 2007 IBBS.

From June 2009 to February 2010, Vietnam’s second round of integrated HIV/STI biological and behavioral surveillance (IBBS) was conducted among select population groups in Hanoi, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho, An Giang, Da Nang, Nghe An, Yen Bai, Dong Nai, Dien Bien and Lao Cai. The IBBS utilized community-based sampling to estimate the prevalence of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STI) and to provide indicators of risk behaviors and intervention exposure among most-at-risk populations (MARP). These included injecting drug users (IDU), female sex workers (FSW), and men who have sex with men (MSM).

This project is the first research to be conducted with men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender (TG) people in Fiji since 1998. It aims to inform the public health response to HIV and sexual health among MSM and Tg in Fiji and assist in the development of community-based activities. The research was community-based and the survey data were collected by MSM and Tg community research assistants. Although not necessarily representative of all MSM and TG in Fiji, the data gathered in this research are extremely valuable in helping to understand the risk behaviour and other factors among MSM and TG, and in enabling the development of recommendations for future HIV prevention and health promotion actions. As a community-based study, this research was very much focused on generating information to help answer the question: "Where to from here?".