{"id":881467,"date":"2025-12-29T01:23:58","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T07:23:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/29\/health-experts-urge-early-testing-of-youth-as-hiv-aids-cases-surge\/"},"modified":"2025-12-29T01:23:58","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T07:23:58","slug":"health-experts-urge-early-testing-of-youth-as-hiv-aids-cases-surge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/29\/health-experts-urge-early-testing-of-youth-as-hiv-aids-cases-surge\/","title":{"rendered":"Health experts urge early testing of youth as HIV, AIDS cases surge"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Read this in The Manila Times digital edition.<\/a><\/p>\n

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MEDICAL experts are sounding the alarm as cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) among Filipino youth surge, emphasizing that early awareness and accessible testing \u2014 even for those as young as 15 \u2014 are critical to reversing the rising cases.<\/p>\n

During a media conference by the Philippine Pediatric Society (PPS) for World AIDS Day, health experts revealed that about 34 percent of new HIV cases are now among those aged 15 to 24, with daily diagnoses averaging 55 cases \u2014 most of them young men.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur youth are being hit dramatically. Early sexual activity, multiple partners, and transactional sex are putting them at increased risk,\u201d said Dr. Jo-anne A. de Castro, president of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines.<\/p>\n

While HIV is a manageable disease with proper treatment, the virus is still spreading rapidly among adolescents and young adults, highlighting the need for testing to be more widely available and accessible to adolescents, not just adults.<\/p>\n

The Philippine HIV and AIDS Policy Act states that individuals as young as 15 can now get tested for HIV without parental consent.<\/p>\n

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However, while 15-year-olds can consent to HIV testing, access to contraception and preventive medications like PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) remains restricted by law and require parental consent for minors.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrevention efforts and education must start before risky behaviors begin. We need to arm the youth with knowledge and normalize regular testing,\u201d de Castro said.<\/p>\n

While awareness campaigns have increased, she acknowledged that stigma remains an obstacle. \u201cStigma stops young people from seeking help or even asking questions. Testing for HIV should be a routine,\u201d Dr. Marimel Pagcatipunan of the Philippine General Hospital told The Manila Times.<\/p>\n

She also debunked claims that providing contraception, especially to the youth, encourages promiscuity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about equipping young people with the facts so they can make safe choices,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She reminded the public that testing is free and confidential at government hubs and hospitals, and self-test kits are available over the counter, removing major barriers to early diagnosis and treatment.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Read this in The Manila Times digital edition. MEDICAL experts are sounding the alarm as cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) among Filipino youth surge, emphasizing that early awareness and accessible testing \u2014 even for those as young as 15 \u2014 are critical to reversing the rising cases. During a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":881468,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4371,267],"tags":[5836,7419],"class_list":{"0":"post-881467","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-experts","8":"category-health","9":"tag-experts","10":"tag-health"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/881467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=881467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/881467\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/881468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=881467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=881467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=881467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}