By Zsarlene B. Chua

Fewer people are becoming infected with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) around the world but the Philippines is, worryingly, trending in the opposite direction. A 2014 country progress report available on the UNAIDS Web site tells us that in 2000, only one new case every three days was diagnosed; by the end of 2013, there was one new case every two hours. In addition, UNICEF noted that the Philippines was “one of only seven countries globally where the number of new HIV cases increased by over 25% from 2001 to 2009.”