By Manilen Grace Armea
The Philippines is facing the fastest-growing HIV epidemic in the Asia-Pacific, with new infections increasing by 550 percent over the past 14 years, a public health emergency that experts warn cannot be solved by the health sector alone.
In 2024, the Catholic majority country recorded 29,600 new HIV cases, up from 4,400 in 2010, according to a joint report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNAIDS. At least 57 Filipinos test positive every day.
The total number of people living with HIV climbed to 252,800 in 2025. One-third of them are between 15 and 24 years old, many facing a lifetime of treatment in a country still struggling to deliver consistent care.
“The numbers paint a stark picture that demands our immediate attention and coordinated action across all levels of government and society,” said UNAIDS Country Director Dr Louie Ocampo.
“We cannot afford to treat HIV as a health sector issue alone. It requires a whole-of-government, whole-of-society response.”
A personal fight against stigma
For Kael Mata, 33, living with HIV has meant more than managing a medical condition; it’s been a battle against discrimination and systemic gaps. Diagnosed at 22, he considers himself lucky to have accessed treatment through programs in Pasig City.
“I had support early on,” Mata told UCA News. “But that’s not the case for many others, especially those in rural areas who have to travel long distances or even cross seas just to access testing or treatment.”
In some areas, patients still pay out of their own pocket for lab work, including X-rays, CD4 counts, and viral load tests. These financial burdens persist despite the Philippine AIDS Prevention and Control Act of 1998, which mandates free and accessible care for people living with HIV.
“We can’t always blame local governments,” Mata said. “They simply don’t have the budget for lab equipment or free services.”
The law was later updated in 2018 through the Republic Act 11166 to give more protection and access to HIV treatment, testing, and prevention.
Some Gains, But Gaps Persist
Despite the rising numbers, the Philippines has made progress. Confirmatory testing that once took up to three weeks can now be completed in a day.
There are now 286 designated HIV treatment facilities across the country, including 172 treatment hubs and 114 primary care sites. In the Eastern Visayas alone, the number of treatment centers has nearly doubled from 11 in 2022 to 20 in 2025.
Prevention tools like pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), HIV self-testing kits, and community-based screenings are also gaining ground.
“When I was diagnosed, PrEP wasn’t even available here,” Mata said. “It was only introduced in 2018 or 2019. It works like birth control but for HIV, you take it before potential exposure to avoid infection.”
Still, prevention programs remain severely underfunded. Of the 3.6 billion pesos (US$62.9 million) spent on HIV in 2023, only 6 percent, or 211 million pesos, was allocated to prevention efforts, according to the WHO and UNAIDS.
The suspension of US funding further deepened the crisis, delaying programs and weakening community-based responses.
Community groups fill the gaps
Civil society groups have tried to fill the vacuum. Among them is Positibo Pasigueño, a Pasig-based organization founded in 2017 that provides community-based testing, education, and linkage to care.
Karen Cruz, the group’s advocacy officer and a trans health advocate, said funding remains a major obstacle.
“We can’t carry out all our programs because we simply don’t have the resources,” Cruz told UCA News. “Even with the current funding, the budget needs to be distributed more strategically. It shouldn’t just go to facilities; it should also go to the people or groups doing the actual groundwork.”
Mata said that many testing centers, while more accessible now, still lack linkage to treatment hubs.
“Someone will test positive, then what? Many centers don’t offer follow-up care. Patients are left to find it on their own, often at a cost,” he said.
Stigma remains another hurdle.
“Even now, society isn’t a safe space for people living with HIV,” said Mata. “But compared to before, more people like me are speaking up. That visibility matters. I share my story to show that HIV is no longer a death sentence. You can live a normal, happy life.”
A Call for National Leadership
With domestic resources stretched and foreign aid declining, health experts and advocates are urging Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to issue an executive order declaring HIV an urgent public health concern.
“This executive order lays the groundwork for stronger multi-sectoral engagement, increased resource mobilization, and firm political will, essential factors in helping reverse the trajectory of rising HIV cases,” Dr. Eunyoung Ko, officer-in-charge of WHO Philippines, said in a statement.
Community advocates agree.
“We need an executive order or stronger mandate because it would make it easier for others to replicate our efforts, remove the need for political favors, and standardize HIV prioritization in youth and LGU programs,” Cruz said.
Father Daniel Coronel, Parochial Vicar of the Diocesan Shrine and Parish of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción in Bulakan, also shared his personal view on the issue.
“It is true that HIV cases today are deeply concerning, and part of the reason is because we’ve started to lose the value we place on sex and the shallow understanding of what it means,” he told UCA News.
“It starts with asking ‘how do you value sex’ and ‘how it should be viewed.’ These days, some see it as just an emotional impulse or an expression of love. Maybe before we even expand HIV education, we need to go back to the basics by helping people understand the meaning and value of sex itself,” the priest added. – UCA News
