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In the recent report released by the National Epidemiology Center of the Department of Health, 204 individuals were found HIV Ab sero-positive. The number is 56 percent higher compared to July of last year.

From the report, the following observations were noted:

1. Three of the 204 reported HIV positive cases were AIDS and all was acquired through sexual contact.
2. Males comprised 90 percent of the cases.
3. Age range for the reported cases were 17 to 55 years old. It was the 20-29 year age group that had the most number of cases at 63 percent.
4. 107 of the 204 reported cases were from the National Capital Region.
5. Modes of transmission were sexual contact (193) and needle sharing among injecting drug users (11). Males having sex with males were the predominant type of sexual transmission at 81 percent.
6. Two deaths were reported for July.

For the full report, download it here.

        

The good news about HIV is that in most parts of the world, the rate of infection has been effectively controlled and even brought down.

The bad news about HIV is that there are seven countries where the rate of infection continues to rise and the Philippines is one of those seven countries. (Source: 2010 Global AIDS Report)

The reality is that there are a reported 7 new HIV cases a day and since 2010, we have seen an unprecedented increase in HIV infections. According to many public health officials, this is a trend that we will continue to see.

The Red Whistle is a community response to the alarming situation of HIV and AIDS in the Philippines. The Red Whistle aims to empower and inspire people to come together and help each other in this battle against HIV and AIDS through online efforts, visual arts and rebranding through the red whistle.

Niccolo Cosme, founder of The Red Whistle says that he hopes “to engage individuals and groups to HELP sound the alarm in their respective communities that HIV is here and it must be stopped.”

Currently, one thousand red whistles sponsored by STARWORLD have been given out to individuals and organizations who are all blowing their hardest to move people into action; to get people to acknowledge that HIV is in  the Philippines, it is spreading fast and will continue to do so, unless we do what we can to educate people about the causes of HIV, encourage friends to get tested and talk openly about condom use and safer sex.

Each red whistle reads “No more AIDS-Related deaths, Stop hiv spread now, together we can” and I believe… together we definitely can!

We at Sex and Sensibilities.com supported The Red Whistle campaign by blowing as hard as we could across four countries in Europe: Czech Republic, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands.

In Prague, Czech Republic, SAS Founder Ana Santos talked to her classmates at the European Journalism Institute 2011 about the HIV situation in the Philippines and the difficulties faced by public health workers and NGOs in promoting safer sex and positive sexuality.

In solidarity, one of her classmates Giorgi Cheishvili from Georgia tried his hand at blowing on the The Red Whistle.

In Switzerland, at the Paleo Music Festival, the largest music festival in Europe, we blew the Red Whistle in celebration of the binding power of music and how music has been used to bring people together in the fight against HIV.

In a street in Brussels, we found a huge wall that was used as a street mural which was in French, called for the urgent need to stop HIV and AIDS.

And in Amsterdam, a city known for its liberalism, we found many places to hang the Red Whistle such as the Sex Museum, a most logical choice;

at the Homomonument on which is dedicated all men and women who have been discriminated against because of their sexual orientation;

We also hung the Red Whistle on the statue of Anne Frank who wrote about her isolation and discrimination in her diary. We’re sure that if she were alive today, Anne would speak out against the stigmatization of those living with HIV and feel the same isolation she and her family did.

Do what you can to stop HIV. Join The Red Whistle Campaign and blow your hardest. Check out The Red Whistle Facebook Page for updates.

        

By Ana Santos

SWITZERLAND — On a recent trip to Switzerland, I stayed at a friend’s apartment which was a welcome respite from having to stay in another box of a hotel room.  It also allowed me another benefit:  watching “regular” TV and not being limited to channels that are pre-screened by the hotel.

I was pleasantly shocked by what I saw on TV, almost continuously.
In the middle of the afternoon (maybe even in the morning), there was all this sex and nudity on TV.

And I’m not even talking about the subtle stuff we normally see: the slow music (usually from horn instruments), kissing, exposed neck and shoulders rubbing together and then–before we get too excited–zoom out!  Everything else is left to the imagination.

I think the most daring scenes I ever saw was Miranda revealing one boob to her neighbor and Charlotte showing one boob to an overzealous sailor during Fleet Week, but in Switzerland, they were at it in broad daylight, in the middle of the day, on regular cable TV (not pay per view) going at like bunnies, and in such splendor, and at times, with much bravado.

There was sound–oh, was there sound! There was certainly no absence of grunts, moans and heavy breathing.  There were various positions, some even acrobatic, and to complete the whole caboodle– there was nudity. Yes, boys and girls, only genitalia remained hidden.

May be I shouldn’t have been shocked to see such things in Switzerland. This was after all the sight that greeted me at the bathroom of the Geneva  Airport.

Vending machine for condoms and tampons. One pack costs CHF1, roughly around Php50.

Condoms and tampons at your disposal

Isn’t that such a kind reminder to have a “safe” trip? : )

In the souvenir shops, there were stuffed vibrators for sale and just about every usual souvenir from cups, mugs to calendars was decorated with explicitly sexy illustrations.

Stuffed vibrators that pledge monogamy: “I vibrate only for you.” And yes, they do actually vibrate.

With sex being so omnipresent, just oh, so casual, I felt compelled to research more on the sexual attitudes and behaviors of the Swiss—the nation that is known for being neutral (Swiss history), precise (Swiss watches) and calculating (Swiss banks).

Here are some interesting discoveries:

DRIVE-IN SEX BOXES:

In Zurich, where prostitution continues to be a major problem, sex-boxes have been installed by authorities so that sex workers and their clients can do business discretely hidden from the public eye. A statement issued the police read: “We can’t beat or stop prostitution, but can try to control it.”

SWISS KIDDIE-SIZED CONDOMS

Hotshot Condoms have been created specifically for 12-14 year old boys.  Hotshot costs about (£4.70 ) for a pack of 6 and were produced after government research showed that more 12-14 years olds were having sex compared with the 90s, but were not using sufficient protection when having sex.The study, conducted on behalf of the Federal Commission for Children and Youth, interviewed 1,480 people aged 10 to 20 and found that the average condoms on sale were often too big for these boys, leaving them and their partners, at risk for unwanted pregnancy or sexually transmitted infection.

Hotshot Condoms are produced by Lamprecht AG, a leading condom manufacturer in Switzerland.

SWITZERLAND IS NAMED ONE OF THE 10 PLACES IN THE WORLD TO HAVE SEX IN 2011

Offtrack.com names The Swiss Chocolate Train as one of its “major panty droppers” for this year.  In your chocolate-induced friskiness, you can ahem, ride the Swiss Chocolate Train from the Swiss town of Montreux to Guyeres for just USD22.

SWISS LUBE

They not only have knives, banks and chocolates branded as “Swiss”, they also have lubricant.  Swiss Navy Lubricant boasts of being the Rolls Royce of lubrications with a “more natural touch and feel–like you are not using any lubrication at all.”

It even has a patented leak proof bottle design with single hand pump for easy one-hand application. They’ve thought of just about everything, haven’t they?

Of course, being the SASsy girl that I am, I had to check out the related teen pregnancy rates and incidence of HIV and AIDS.

SEX EDUCATION STARTS YOUNG

In Switzerland, age of consentis 16 and mandatory sex education is taught in school starting age 10. There is easy and inexpensive, if not free, access to safer sex information and services for the youth.

SWITZERLAND HAS THE LOWEST TEEN PREGNANCY RATE IN WESTERN EUROPE AND ONE OF THE WORLD’S LOWEST RATES OF ABORTION

Guttmacher Institute published a study in 1993 as part of the Swiss Multicentre Adolescent Survey on Health, 5% of 1,726 sexually active adolescents (15-20 years old) in a group of 3,993 had ever been pregnant. This study confirmed Switzerland as having the lowest adolescent fertility rate in Western Europe.

A 2006 article in the Washington Post, which quotes a Swiss healthcare practitioner reaffirms this.

According to Pierre-Andre Michaud, chief of the Multidisciplinary Unit for Adolescent Health at the University of Lausanne Hospital in Switzerland, “Switzerland has one of the world’s lowest rates of abortion and teen pregnancy.”

The article goes on to say:

A 2001 Guttmacher Institute report, drawing on data from 30 countries in Western and Eastern Europe, concluded: “Societal acceptance of sexual activity among young people, combined with comprehensive and balanced information about sexuality and clear expectations about commitment and prevention childbearing and STDs [sexually transmitted diseases] within teenage relationships, are hallmarks of countries with low levels of adolescent pregnancy, childbearing and STDs.” The study cited Sweden as the “clearest of the case-study countries in viewing sexuality among young people as natural and good.”

HIV INCIDENCE IS LOW

According to 2009 data available on Avert.org. Switzerland has a 0.4% adult HIV prevalencerate.  In terms of actual number, this is estimates about 18,000 people living with HIV.Here’s a snapshot of the HIV and AIDS in Switzerland according to the Swiss AIDS Federation:

• In Switzerland there are currently about 25,000 people living with HIV and Aids
• From the start of the epidemic to the end of December 2009, more than 9000 cases of Aids have been notified. Nearly 6000 people have died of the consequences of Aids.
• In 2010, 609 new positive HIV test results were notified. Of these, 25% were women.
• Approx. 44% of all infections are due to heterosexual contacts

To put this in perspective and to compare it to the Philippines:

Source for HIV incidence in the Philippines: DOH HIV Registry as of June 2011 

In terms of number, Switzerland may have four times more PLHIV, but their population is 10 times less than ours.

This led me to conclude either one of two things. One, may be the Swiss are so open about talking about sex more and therefore have less time to have it. Or two, sex was just made so available, that after awhile, it was like my reaction to seeing yet another couple on top of one another on daytime TV. I simply said, almost exasperated, “Again?!” and just changed the channel to watch something else.

        

For the month of June, the National Epidemiology Center (NEC) reported 178 new HIV Ab sero-positive individuals. NEC also said that this was a 63 percent increase the same period last year. According to the same report, one of the 178 individuals was listed with AIDS. He was a 38 year old single male who acquired the infection through homosexual contact.

Some other observations are here as follows:

1. Ninety four (94) percent of the infected individuals were males.
2. The age range for these people are between 15 to 58 years old. Median age is 28.
3. It was the 20-29 year age-group that had the most number of cases at 60 percent.
4. The 173, who reported mode of transmission, pointed sexual contact.
5. Males having sex with males is still the predominant type of sexual transmission.
6. No deaths were reported for June.
7. Sixty two (62) percent of the cases reported were from the National Capital Region.
8. Out of the 178 reported cases, 22 were overseas Filipino workers.

        

PRESS RELEASE
UNAIDS
13 July 2011 l Geneva

The results and data from studies in Kenya, Uganda and Botswana disclose that a daily antiretroviral tablet taken by people without HIV infection can reduce their risk of acquiring HIV by up to 73%. Both daily tenofovir and daily tenofovir/ emtricitabine taken as preventive medicine can avert heterosexual transmission of HIV from men to women, and vice versa.

“This is a major scientific breakthrough which re-confirms the essential role that antiretroviral medicine has to play in the AIDS response,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

Read the full story: http://www.unicmanila.org/main/index.php?pg=news&id=577

        

The National Epidemiology Center of the Department of Health  reported that May of this year recorded the highest number of confirmed HIV Ab sero-positive cases at 184. The figure is 20 percent higher compared to the same period last year.

Following the release of the report, here are the main observations pointed out:

1. Most of the cases were males at 92 percent with the median age at 28 years old.
2. The 20-29 age group had the most number of cases.
3. Fifty-two percent of the reported cases came from the National Capital Region.
4. Reported modes of transmissions were through sexual contact and sharing of drug needles. For sexual contact, males having sex with other males still remain predominant.
5. Two males from the 184 reported cases were confirmed AIDS positive. The infection was acquired through bisexual contact.
6. A death was reported for this month.
7. Thirty or 16 percent of the cases were OFWs and were all acquired through sexual contact.

For the full report, download it here.

        

According to the National Epidemiology Center of the Department of Health, 171 individuals were reported HIV Ab sero-positive individuals for the month of April. The number is 11 percent higher compared to the same period as last year.

For the reported cases, the following observations had been made:

1. Most of the cases were males (96%).
2. The 20-29 age group had the most number of cases.
3. 54 percent of the reported cases were from the National Capital Region.
4. The reported mode of transmissions were sexual contact and re-use of needles among injecting drug users.
5. Males having sex with males were the predominant type of sexual transmission.
6. Eleven of the reported cases were Overseas Filipino Workers and were acquired through sexual contact.
7. Three of the 171 cases were found AIDS positive and were acquired through sexual contact.

For the full report, download it here.

        

From 6-8 June 2011, world leaders will convene in New York City at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly High Level Meeting on AIDS. The gathering of Heads of State and other leaders from government, the scientific community, civil society and the private sector offers a unique opportunity to review progress, share lessons learned and chart the future course of the global AIDS response.

The meeting comes at a pivotal moment in the history of the epidemic: Thirty years ago, in June 1981, scientists in the United States identified the first case of an immune system failure that would later be defined as AIDS. Ten years ago, at a landmark UN General Assembly Special Session on AIDS, world leaders declared that AIDS was a “global emergency” and called for an “urgent, coordinated and sustained response” to the epidemic.

Now, three decades into the epidemic, what is the global scorecard for the AIDS response? According to a recent report of the UN Secretary-General, more than six million people were accessing lifesaving antiretroviral treatment in low- and middle-income countries at the end of 2010—up from just 400 000 in 2003. Over the past decade, the number of people newly infected with HIV declined by nearly 20%. And, for the first time in 2009, more than 50% of HIV-positive women were able to ensure that their babies were born HIV free.

However, the report underscores that the gains are fragile. The HIV epidemic continues to outpace the response, with an estimated two new HIV infections for every individual starting treatment. Global AIDS resources have flat-lined, and critical sources of leadership and accountability remain untapped.

The Philippines, in particular, faces the challenge of being one of seven countries in the world whose number of new HIV cases has increased by more than 25 percent since 2001. While other countries in the world have managed to slow down the spread of HIV, or have even managed to reverse the trend of the epidemic, the Philippines has witnessed a sharp rise in the number of reported  HIV infections, from 1 new infection per day in 2007 to 5 new infections per day in 2010. As of March 2011, 6 new cases of HIV are reported each day, majority of whom are in the 21-30 years age bracket.

To accelerate progress in the global AIDS response, the Secretary-General has called on the global community to adopt six goals for the year 2015—targets that will be reviewed and endorsed by participants in the June High Level Meeting on AIDS:

• Reduce by 50% the sexual transmission of HIV—including among key populations, such as young people, men who have sex with men, and in the context of sex work—and prevent all new HIV infections as a result of injecting drug use;
• Provide HIV treatment for 13 million people;
• Reduce by 50% tuberculosis deaths in people living with HIV;
• Eliminate HIV transmission from mother to child, keep mothers alive, and improve the health of women, children and families.
• Ensure equal access to education for children orphaned and made vulnerable by AIDS.
• Reduce by 50% the number of countries with HIV-related restrictions on entry, stay and residence.

In recent years, the Philippines has made significant progress towards increasing access to treatment for people living with HIV, with the support of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.

Despite this progress, there is no room for complacency. Resources for HIV programmes  is heavily dependent on external funding, since the government budget for AIDS has not increased despite the rising number of HIV cases. HIV programmes currently reach only an average of 38 percent of key affected populations, whereas the needed coverage is 80 percent in order to make a dent in the epidemic. Stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV remains a barrier to accessing the needed HIV-related services.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in the Philippines is committed to supporting country responses of government and civil society, including organizations of people living with HIV, which aim for universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.

The AIDS response is facing “a moment of truth,” said the Secretary-General in his report. Bold decisions are needed, he said, to dramatically reshape the response and achieve the UNAIDS vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. The Philippines needs to play its part in a global movement that can and will make AIDS a thing of the past.

Link to the  2011 High  Level Meeting on AIDS::

http://www.unaids.org/en/aboutunaids/unitednationsdeclarationsandgoals/2011highlevelmeetingonaids/

        

Media Advisory

Who: Department of Foreign Affairs, United Nations Development Programme, Action for Health Initiatives, Inc. (ACHIEVE) and the Foreign Service Institute.

What: Will commemorate the 27th International AIDS Candlelight Memorial with the theme “Touching Lives.”

When: May 26, Thursday, 2:30 – 5:30 PM.

Where: Bulwagang Apolinario Mabini (Dept. of Foreign Affairs Auditorium). DFA, Roxas Boulevard, Manila.

Speakers include the following:

Dr. Jacqui Badcock, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative

Hon. Leslie B. Gatan, Assistant Secretary for United Nations and International Organizations, Dept. of Foreign Affairs

Ms. Krista Kleiner, Bb. Pilipinas International 2011

Owie Franco, former OFW in Saudi Arabia

Imelda, spouse of an OFW

The speakers can be interviewed at 5:30 PM after the Lotus Ceremony and the reading of the names of Filipinos who have died from the HIV/AIDS pandemic. There will also be an opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the photo exhibit by Niccolo Cosme called “RESPLENDOR, which documents the images of HIV/AIDS in the Philippines.

Why: As of March this year, 1,585 OFWs have been recorded in the National HIV Registry of the Department of Health. They comprise 25% of the total HIV cases in the country since 1984. While this number may be a result of compulsory testing of OFWs to fulfill the requirements of overseas employment, it still indicates that a response must be done to help reduce the HIV vulnerabilities of our OFWs. Thus, the AIDS Candlelight Memorial ceremony this year focuses on our so-called modern-day heroes, whose lives have been blighted by the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Reference:

Danton R. Remoto, UNDP Communications Officer
Mobile Phone: 0917-800-5002
Telephone: 901-0239
E-mail:danton.remoto@undp.org

        

by Elizabeth Fox, Sex and Sensibilities Summer Intern

On Sunday, May 15^th, the Yoga for Life community came together to join the world in commemorating the 28^th International AIDS Candlelight Memorial at the Glorietta 3 Park in Ayala Center, Makati City. Entitled “Yoga for Life: Touching Lives”, the afternoon gathered yoga enthusiasts and HIV/AIDs advocates alike in a candlelit sunset ceremony honoring the lives of people affected by HIV and AIDS.

Participants gather for the Candlelit Memorial.

The Yoga for Life community took the traditional candle lighting ceremony a step further by making an impact in the way it knows best—through yoga. Co-founders of the Filipino branch, Charmaine Cu-Unjieng and Paulo Leonido, were joined by the country’s top yoga instructors in leading the community through yoga poses, breathing techniques, and guided meditation, thus demonstrating how the discipline and kinship of yoga can help those affected by HIV. More importantly, however, the event, which took place amidst the ordinary buzz of Makati traffic, united the community’s energies towards igniting the flames of HIV awareness in the general public.

Participants engage in yoga practice led by the country's best instructors.

As people passed by on the street, some staring, some joining the gathering crowd of spectators, acclaimed yoga instructors Roland dela Cruz, Jeannie Javelosa, Tesa Celdran, Marilen Elizalde, Marc Carlos, Lex Bonife, and Rebecca de Villa each led the participants through a brief series of postures. The yoga practice was followed by a candlelit “kirtan”, an ancient call-and-response chanting experience that originated in India and involves chanting hymns or mantras accompanied by musical instruments. The kirtan called upon sacred energies which served to quiet the mind, remove obstacles, and bring the participants back to the center of their being—while also commemorating the lives of those who have died, and allowing spectators to recognize how precious and powerful their own lives are.

The event also celebrated Yoga for Life’s official launch as a non-profit organization. Yoga for Life began in June 2010, and is the Philippines’ first community-based yoga program for persons living with HIV, as well as others who support them and the cause and want to experience the beauty of yoga. To date, the community has grown to over 300 members, as YFL continues to reach more people and build a community of advocates who, through yoga, share their energies towards living positively and living well.

Participants in the yoga practice model their warrior positions.

This particular event, the 28^th annual International Candlelight Memorial (the longest running grassroots movement around HIV and AIDS), also marked the first time YFL has joined the global cause and the tens of thousands of people from 83 different countries who participated in similar memorials. While the Candlelight Memorial was originally started to commemorate the lives lost to HIV/AIDS, Yoga for Life chose to expand the mission, praising the lives of those who continue to triumph in spite of the virus, and celebrating the HIV advocate in everyone.

The memorial coincidentally occurred in the same week as a groundbreaking new discovery relating to HIV treatment. Results announced on May 12 by the United States National Institutes of Health show that if an HIV-positive person adheres to an effective antiretroviral therapy regimen, the risk of transmitting the virus to their uninfected sexual partner can be reduced by 96%. This discovery will seriously change the way HIV is treated, and hopefully have a huge impact on the so-called “prevention revolution”. At a time when the number of HIV cases in the Philippines, once noted for its remarkably low rates of HIV, is rising steadily—the results from March 2011 marked a 43% increase compared to the same period last year—any HIV advocacy, such as that encouraged by Yoga for Life, is of great importance to the country.

Participants engage in the kirtan.

If you are interested in Yoga for Life or want to help their mission, visit their website.

Yoga for Life offers classes twice a week for those living with HIV and/or those affected by HIV in some way. Classes include breathing techniques, postures, and guided meditation meant to address the fear and stress of HIV and also the stress of everyday life:

Wednesdays at 7pm: 28^th Floor Conference Room, Medical Plaza Ortigas Building, 25 San Miguel Ave, Ortigas Center, Pasig City

Saturdays at 2pm: Century Plaza Penthouse, 120 Perea Street, Legaspi Village, Makati City

Photos courtesy of Yoga for Life