The “THIS IS IT!" 2009 Integrated HIV Behavioral Serologic Surveillance (IHBSS) National Dissemination Forum was held last December 10-11, 2009 at The Heritage Hotel, Pasay City to disseminate information on the current HIV/AIDS epidemic. Around 180 participants from various sectors, including Surveillance Site Coordinators, City Health Officers, partner agencies and various NGOs, were part of this National Dissemination Forum. Gracing the occasion were Ms. Teresita Marie Bagasao who presented the AIDS Commission Report and Dr. Eric Tayag of the NEC who gave the HIV/AIDS Situationer. Included in the panel of reactors were PNAC Secretariat Dr. Ferchito Avelino, DILG Assistant Secretary Asec. Teresita Soriano, PAFPI President Mr. Joshua Formentera, and HIV Advocate Mr. Wango Gallaga. The Secretary of Health, Hon. Francisco T. Dugue III, also graced the occasion as key note speaker during the program.
Day 1: National Consensus Workshop, 10 December
Day 2: National Dissemination Forum, 11 December
The first day was dedicated to a National Consensus Workshop on HIV Prevalence while the National Dissemination Forum was held on the 2nd day. The afternoon of the NDF was spent on Round Table Discussions on various issues around the epidemic, which was facilitated by Dr. Eric Tayag. Employing the Open Space Technology (OST), the participants were asked to post their own issues, who in turn will form groups revolving around that specific issue, with the participants spearheading the discussions themselves.
This National Dissemination Forum is spearheaded by the National Epidemiology Center, in partnership with UNAIDS, Global Fund Round 6 and PAFPI, and with support from the World Health Organization.
HIV prevalence among Injecting Drug Users (IDUs) was once considered very low, but other factors such as sexual behaviour, frequency of injection, high mobility among IDUs and overlapping with other key populations pose a high risk for HIV transmission.
"SEX and DRUGS" is the first of a series of Round Table Discussions on HIV, Injecting Drug Use and Sex (THIS) held last September 18, 2009 at the Bayview Hotel, Roxas Boulevard, Manila.
Around 40 representatives from around 10 research institutions who have conducted researches on HIV and drugs, and the majority from key stakeholders national drug and HIV agencies participated . A total of nine researches or data sources were presented and discussed.
The key outputs of this first RTD were the following:
Inputs to IDU Population estimates and Projections
Prevalence and Incidence Estimates and Projections of HIV and STI among IDUs
Updates from KAP surveys on HIV and IDU
Gaps in data, policy and programming and recommendations for further research
"STIR UP" is a Strategic Information Planning and Response Setting Workshop that was held after compiling the local HIV Estimates and Surveillance work. It has, for the first time, brought together site coordinators, City Health Officers and NGOs with the task of working together to help craft key messages of slowing down the spread of HIV. Spearheaded by the Philippine National AIDS Council, the National Epidemiology Center, with support from UNAIDS, this workshop was held last 18-20 November 2009 at One Tagaytay Place, Tagaytay City.
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).
