The Modes of Transmission (MOT) Workshop was held to help the country understand its epidemic by studying the trends in HIV transmission. Five key participants were selected, namely Dr. Genesis Samonte, Dr. Agnes Abrenegas and Noel Palaypayon from the NEC-DOH, Dr. Jessie Fantone from the PNAC Secretariat, and Peter Mosende from UNAIDS. Mr. Ketan Chitnis, Regional HIV/AIDS Specialist of UNICEF, also joined this 5-day workshop, which was also facilitated by Mr. Tim Brown and Nalyn Siripong of the UNAIDS East-West Center, and Ms. Amala Reddy of the UNAIDS Regional Support Team.
The first three days were dedicated to studying the current figures among the MARPs. The World Health Organization joins in on the Working Group Meeting on the fourth day to discuss risk communication. The Stakeholders Meeting was held on the last day wherein Tim Brown and Amala Reddy lead the team in assessing the current epidemic, naming it a “transitional trend” in the epidemic.
Past graphs and statistics in the HIV among MARPs have been reviewed, along with the trends from other Asian countries. It has been noted that each country has its own trend and statistics and varies from country to country, hence the epidemic must be given an analysis based on the country’s context. Emphasis has also been given in the need for further coverage in surveillance, hence, more funding must be allocated to this.
The MOT Workshop was organized by UNAIDS in cooperation with the National Epidemiology Center of the Department of Health (NEC-DOH).
