Tambuling Batangas Publication March 20-26, 2019 Issue | Page 5

OPINYON
March 20-26, 2019
HIV-AIDS: Get tested to know
status
THE Philippines has been
reported to be one of the fastest
growing worldwide in terms of
rate of increase in infections
of HIV/AIDS with a reported
56,275 cumulative cases since
1984 by the Department of
Health AIDS Registry. The same
data shows, however, that the
Philippines is also a low-HIV-
prevalence country, with less
than 0.1 percent of the adult
population estimated to be HIV-
positive.

According to Quezon
City Public Health Department
Medical Officer Dr. Angel
Mendoza, the increase in the
Philippines’ yearly status on
Human
Immunodeficiency
Virus (HIV) and Acquired
Immune Deficiency Syndrome
(AIDS) cases rise to about
170 percent. As of November
2018, approximately one to
two Filipinos are diagnosed as
positive in an hour. The medical
practitioner conducted an HIV/
AIDS orientation to employees
of the Philippine Information
Agency courtesy of its Human
Resource and Development
Division.

Mendoza said the city’s
high percentages of Persons
Living with HIV (PLHIV) are
those in the age range of 15-24
year old.

“These are mostly
students and those working in
different industries,” he said,
Accessing pediatric cancer-related
information made easy
By Joy Gabrido
IN order to improve the lives
of children with cancer, the
UP Open University (UPOU)
launched a website that will
provide easy access to essential
information on pediatric cancer
during its 24th Founding
Anniversary on March 1.

“I hope that this
website will create the impact
we are striving for. With all
your help and cooperation, I
believe the dream of improving
the lives of children with cancer
through this website, through
our collaborative effort will
be realized,” said Asst. Prof.
Loyda Amor Cajucom, project
leader during the launching
programme held at the UPOU
Headquarters,
Los
Banos,
Laguna.

The Aruga sa Batang
may Cancer (ABC) Initiative
(arugaproject.com) is envisioned
to serve as a web-based service
provider of pediatric palliative
care. This means its content
will be focused on relieving
patients from the symptoms,
pain, physical and mental stress
at any stage of the illness. The
patients, their caregivers and
healthcare providers are given
free and faster link to verified
information,
services,
and
palliative care experts through
this web-based platform.
ABC feature

“It is the first of its
kind in our country,” UPOU
Chancellor Melinda dela Pena
Bandalaria said.

The website can also
be accessed through a mobile
phone which makes it even
more accessible to those who
largely need it, she added.

Another feature of
the website is, it enables
primary caregiver and health
professionals to take online
training courses on palliative
care in the UPOU-developed
Learning Management System
(LMS).

Chancellor Bandalaria
expressed her joy as this
website reflected what UPOU is
all about, adopting the open and
distance learning as a mode of
delivery in training caregivers
and healthcare professionals
particularly of pediatric cancer.

“I’m
happy
about
the progress of the project,
including the development of the
Learning Management System
which is our way of (promoting)
inclusive education for those
who are really interested to
learn more about caring for
children with cancer.”
Moreover, this platform shall
employ pediatric cancer registry,
contain national statistics on
pediatric cancer, and create an
overview of the health status of
pediatric patients in the country.
The
registry
is
instrumental for cancer control,
research initiatives, program
planning, and patient care
enhancements as it generates
reports on national statistics
for pediatric cancer incidence,
prevalence,
morbidity
and
mortality.

“the project was also
able to develop a platform for
telemedicine and provided the
opportunity to conduct online
consultations,” she pointed out
stressing that this means being
able to reach even the remote
areas in the country.
ABC Phase

For
efficient
and
more effective conduct of
this initiative, this project is
composed of four phases.

The first phase is the
generation of pediatric oncology
registry through baseline survey
and situational analysis and
development of a web-based
pediatric palliative care service
program.

The second phase
employs the development and
delivery of online training
materials
for
healthcare
professionals on palliative care
for children with cancer through
adding that they may be prone to
experience discriminatory acts in
the workplace, in their learning
institutions, and even while
availing some form of insurance
coverage, simply because the
level of awareness of some
individuals are still on the low
side.

He said the fight against
HIV/AIDS has been made
more difficult due to the latest
industrial developments like
easier access to social media
that may have contributed to an
increased number of unprotected
sex and eventually, to the virus
spread. The irresponsible sharing
of some social media posts online
also contributes to the confusion
as commonly read HIV-related
stigma content relating to HIV
transmission, as well as hoax
medicinal remedies to HIV/
AIDS can be easily shared.

These are the kinds
of information we would
want to contain and stop from
disseminating, he said.

Mendoza said being
misinformed about HIV such
as its symptoms, prevention,
and treatment may contribute
to the rapid spread of infection
among the young population.
The official shared that in the
Philippines, Quezon City has the highest number of PLHIV
diagnosed garnering 64 percent,
followed by Caloocan City with
7 percent.

“The only way to know
your status is to get tested. HIV
testing is recommended as a
standard care for all sexually
active individual to ensure HIV
prevention as well as immediate
treatment and care,” Mendoza
said.

As part of measures put
in place by the local government
unit, at least seven clinics offer
free testing and consultations
on HIV/ AIDS. The clinics
are located in Project 7 Social
Hygiene
Center,
Bernardo
Social Hygiene Center, Batasan
Social Hygiene Center, Klinika
Bernardo, Klinika Novaliches,
and Klinika Project 7, and AJ
Maximo Social Hygiene Center
with
HIV/AIDS
Program
facilities.
The
public
is
encouraged to visit nearest
clinic for voluntary HIV-testing
and consultations to help fight
the country’s rising HIV/AIDS
epidemic. The official assured of
confidentiality of all test results.
They are open Monday to Friday
from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM and
3:00 PM to 11:00 PM. (PIA
InfoComm)
web-based platform.

Third phase comprises
the implementation, monitoring,
and evaluation. And, the
final phase is the health and
education promotion on web-
based palliative care service in
the Philippines.
This
remarkable
and purposive project was
made possible through the
DOSTPhilippine
Council
for Health Research and
Development (PCHRD) as
the funding agency; and the
Department of Health (DOH),
Bicol Regional Training and
Teaching Hospital (BRTTH),
Cebu
Doctors’
University
Hospital (CDUH), Southern
Philippines Medical Center
(SPMC),
Vicente
Sotto
Memorial
Medical
Center
(VSMMC), The Ruth Foundation
for Palliative and Hospice Care, Kythe Foundation, Inc., and
John Wayne Cancer Institute as
cooperating agencies.

T
h
e
implementing agencies of this
program are the Philippine
Children’s Medical Center
(PMPC) and UPOU.

“UP Open University,
together with our partners,
our partner hospitals, partner
organizations, we continue to
support this project as we strive
to address the problems on
palliative care of children with
cancer,” the chancellor affirms.

The ABC Initiative
is still in its initial stage, thus,
the unwavering support of
stakeholders including patients’
families, medical professionals
and media practitioners is
critical to its development,
promotion, and success. (Joy
Gabrido,
UPOU Chancellor Melinda dela Pena Bandalaria shares about the Aruga sa Batang may Cancer (ABC) Initiative
Website, its purpose and features during the 24th Founding Anniversary celebration at the UPOU Headquarters, Los
Banos, Laguna. (PIA4A)