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The Department of Health (DOH)-Calabarzon recently conducted “peer education training” about human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) for students in Bacoor City, Cavite.
The DOH-Calabarzon said that they targeted students for the said workshop because “more new HIV cases are being reported among youths between age 12 to 24 years old.”
“We need to empower our students and give them the proper and accurate information on the basics of HIV/AIDS for them to avoid acquiring the virus,” said Dr. Michael Angelo Marquez, medical officer III and head of Bacoor City Social Hygiene Clinic.
“We need to train them, increase their knowledge and encourage behavior change for them to become an effective messenger among their peers for preventing HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the school and the community,” he added.
The DOH-Calabarzon said that 161 students from different public and private schools in Bacoor had participated in the event.
“Peer education training programs are effective ways to deliver risk reduction information because of trust and confidence. Youths rely on their peers for information and they prefer to receive info on most subjects, including sensitive issues such as reproductive health and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV),” said Dr. Mary Grace Javier, medical officer III of Department of Education- Bacoor City.
According to DOH-Calabarzon, a total of 9,926 HIV/AIDS cases have already been recorded in the region from 1984 to April 2019.
“Provinces with the greatest number of cases is Cavite with 3,555 followed by Rizal with 2,667 and Laguna with 2,032. Batangas recorded a total of 1,141 and Quezon with 531 cases,” it bared.
