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Friday, February 24, 2006
City's HIV-Aids control program lauded
ZAMBOANGA City's HIV-AIDS control program for "Effective Partnership Towards AIDS-Free Zamboanga" that won for it the 2005 Gawad Galing Pook Award, is the country's role model.
The program is becoming the focal interest of many foreign nations and local government units that wish to replicate it in their respective places.
"They are sent here specifically to observe and get something out of our program on HlV-Aids and STD, so they'll also be able to replicate it there," City Health Officer Rodel Agbulos disclosed.
Delegates from Iran, composed mostly of physicians, arrived in the city for a two-day stay purposely to study and observe the city's effective program in the control of HIV, the virus that causes Aids.
Accompanied by Unicef representatives based in Manila, the Iranian visitors paid a call on Mayor Celso Lobregat and were briefed on the city's HIV-Aids control program and it impressed them.
"It's very good to know about the HIV-Aids control program of yours. I think this practice is very good," said Dr. Abbas Sedaghat of the National Aids-STI Program in Iran.
Dr. Sedaghat revealed that in his country, with 70 million population, the disease is getting serious. He said an estimated 10,000 people in Iran are living with the said disease.
He said these people acquired the deadly ailment not through sex, but through Intravenous Drugs Use (IDU).
"It's spreading (there), not through sex workers, but through IDU," explained the Iranian doctor. His delegation included Dr. Gholamreza Heidari and Dr. Hamid Reza Setayesh.
Japanese Ema Naito, of Unicef, said Zamboanga City is doing very well in the control of HIV-Aids.
"I think Zamboanga City is a very good example. You know, the mayor and the City Health Office and the civil society organization are working together to make sure that the city is ready to handle any possible cases of HIV. I think it's a very good example," said the young Japanese.
Agbulos said with the city's program on HIV-Aids, the number of cases reported here is very minimal compared to other places.
"What's very important here is the knowledge of the residents; they're already aware how transmission of HIV-Aids happens. They themselves are taking precautions," the city health officer said.
He revealed that the city has a total of seven confirmed HIV-Aids cases and that two of these are overseas Filipino workers. They are presently being monitored by the city, which is also facilitating their possible transfer to a Manila hospital for further observation.
City Mayor Celso Lobregat, in a separate interview, said: "More and more local governments and even other nations, like Iran, have their official delegations. They come here to see the program."
He said the program was started by her late mother, Mayor Maria Clara Lobregat, during her past administration.
"This started during the time of Ma'am Caling y ta continua quita este ahora (and we're continuing this)," the mayor said.
The Philippines has an estimated 11,200 HIV-Aids cases, according to the Department of Health (DOH).
The Unicef considers this estimate as not very alarming compared to other Asian countries, like China, India and Africa, where many people are dying of the dreaded illness.
(February 24, 2006 issue)
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