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HIV/AIDS is ravaging the country’s large overseas
work force, posing a long-term threat to one of its key sources of
foreign exchange, the Department of Health said.
Thirty-five percent of all
documented cases of HIV carriers are overseas Filipino workers (OFWs),
including 42 percent of the newly reported cases in 2006, according
to new data released by the department.
The government estimates there
were some 11,200 HIV carriers in the Philippines as of December
2005.
“It is a must that we act now
because OFWs are regarded as modern-day heroes and are major
contributors to the country’s gross domestic product and economic
stability in general,” said Health Secretary Francisco Duque.
He said there were limited
services to educate and support families of overseas Filipino
workers who return home suffering from the virus that causes AIDS.
The health department is
“aggressively bridging the gap in terms of access to comprehensive
HIV and AIDS services,” Duque said.
Some 241 HIV carriers now receive
free antiretroviral drugs from the health department and their
number should rise once other sufferers register with the
government, he added.
--AFP
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