ADB Supporting Philippines in Combating Spread of HIV/AIDS

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - An Asian Development Bank-sponsored undertaking
to help combat the spread of HIV/AIDS by raising awareness among high-
risk groups in the Philippines was launched during a workshop Monday
in partnership with the government's Department of Health, members of
the private sector and non-government organizations.

Strengthening Country Response to HIV/AIDS among High-Risk Groups is
a subproject of ADB's Regional Technical Assistance for Fighting
HIV/AIDS in Asia and the Pacific project, funded by the HIV/AIDS
Cooperation Fund for Fighting HIV/AIDS in Asia and the Pacific, which
is financed by the government of Sweden. The subproject aims to
improve the effectiveness of the national and local response to the
epidemic among groups considered high-risk, such as intravenous drug
users and overseas Filipino workers, in particular seafarers. The
subproject also seeks to provide support to the Department of Health
in developing more practical approaches and interventions to help
these high-risk groups.

There were around 60 workshop participants who shared their
experiences, lessons learned and challenges in working with these
high-risk groups. ADB Philippines Country Director Thomas Crouch and
Health Undersecretary Ethelyn P. Nieto attended the workshop.

The subproject has two components. The first involves the development
of strategies to reduce harm caused by the disease and to test those
strategies. The second involves building up capacity for HIV
prevention and care for overseas Filipino workers, especially
seafarers.

The ADB assistance will be delivered through a team of consultants
fielded by Pacific Rim Innovation and Management Exponents, Inc.

(PRIMEX) along with two local non-government organizations, Action
for Health Initiatives, Inc. and the Remedios AIDS Foundation.

As of the end of last year, the Joint United Nations Programme on
HIV/AIDS estimated that globally, there were approximately 40 million
people living with HIV, and 12,000 new infections were occurring each
day. Since the first recorded case of HIV in 1984, the Philippines
has maintained an HIV prevalence rate of less than 0.1% among adults.

The Department of Health's National Epidemiology Center estimates
there were approximately 11,200 people with HIV as of the end of
2005. However, as of April this year, the national registry showed
that there were 2,818 people living with HIV, indicating that only
one in five persons could be aware of his or her HIV status.

The Department of Health has conceded that it cannot do the job of
combating the spread of HIV/AIDS alone and recognizes the need to
collaborate with other government agencies, international
organizations, non-government organizations, civil society, and co-
members in the Philippine National AIDS Council. The ability to reach
out and assist overseas Filipino workers, on the other hand, is
hampered by inadequate referral systems and limited access to HIV
services, such as voluntary counseling and treatment.
_______________________

PRIMEX wins bid to strengthen Philippines' response to HIV/AIDS

PRIMEX has won anew another Asian Development Bank-funded health
project, this time, on strengthening the Philippine response to the
prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus – Acute Immuno Deficiency
Syndrome (HIV-AIDS).

After an international competitive bidding process , the PRIMEX
proposal was ranked first among the shortlisted firms who bid for the
ADB regional technical assistance for Fighting HIV/AIDS in Asia and
the Pacific – Subproject 5: Strengthening Country Response to HIV and
AIDS among High Risk Groups in the Philippines (RETA 6321).

To implement the Project, PRIMEX has associated with Action for
Health Initiatives (ACHIEVE) Inc. and Remedios AIDS Foundation (RAF),
two highly reputable Philippine non-government organizations (NGOs)
with proven experience in HIV/AIDS work involving overseas Filipino
workers (OFWs) and intravenous/IV drug users ( IDUs), respectively .

The Consultant Team, composed of three international and four
national specialists, commenced work yesterday, 4 June 2007 , and
will be on board until December 2008. It is led by Dr. Vicente Salas,
an HIV/AIDS Specialist based in Cambodia, and two Deputy Team
Leaders, one for each component: Dr. Jose Narciso M. Sescon, an
HIV/AIDS Specialist from RAF, for Component 1 (dealing with injecting
drug users [ IDUs]) and Ms. Ma. Lourdes Marin, a Behavioral Change
Communication Specialist from ACHIEVE, for Component 2 (dealing with
overseas Filipino workers [OFWs]).

RE TA 6321 is one of ADB's forms of assistance to support HIV/AIDS
prevention and control initiatives both at regional and country
levels. It is financed by the HIV/AIDS Trust Fund and funded by the
Government of Sweden.

The Philippine Sub project aims to strengthen country response to HIV
and AIDS among two highly-vulnerable groups, namely: (i) Injecting
Drug Users and (ii ) Overseas Filipino Workers. Each of the two
components of the technical assistance is focused on these two
population groups .

Component 1, Situation and Response Analysis on IDU Epidemic for
Development of Harm Reduction Strategies, will entail the development
of evidence-based harm reduction strategies and implementation
guidelines, political and social mapping for strategy development,
pilot testing of harm reduction initiatives, and capacity
strengthening of local key partners for harm reduction.

Component 2, Building Capacity and Evidence for HIV Prevention and
Care for Filipino Migrant Workers, will involve the development of
evidence-based prevention and care strategies and implementation
guidelines, stakeholder mapping, and capacity development and
training of key program (national) and local government unit (LGU)
personnel on HIV and migration.

http://www.adb.org/Media/Articles/2007/11996-philippines-combating-
hiv-aids/default.asp

http://www.primexinc.org/news-
PRIMEX.wins.bid.to.strengthen.response.to.HIV.htm