Disease

HIV in the Philippines

The Philippines is facing one of the fastest-growing epidemics of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the Asia-Pacific region. According to official statistics, HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men (MSM) has increased tenfold in the last five years.

The organization has criticized the Philippines government in their effort to get the epidemic under control. HIV prevention education in Philippine schools is woefully inadequate and the commercial marketing of condoms to MSM populations is nonexistent.

The Government has announced the distribution of condoms which will be accompanied with appropriate sex education for adolescents and parental involvement in such program. The distribution will hopefully start next year, specifically in regions with the most number of HIV cases.

Yemen: Cholera

The Ministry of Public Health and Population in Yemen has released the latest figures on cholera cases in the country. Since the last update, 1089 new suspected cases of cholera and 1 additional death have been reported. As of 28 December, a cumulative total of 12 733 suspected cases of cholera, including 97 associated deaths were recorded.