Topic: HIV/AIDS
Country: Philippines
Delegate Name: Vaishnavi Krishnan
School: Forest Hills Eastern High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Philippines position papers GLIMUN 2018 committees
The current HIV/AIDS epidemic is widely believed to have begun in the 1970s. During the next decade, the number of cases skyrocketed as the disease spread from its roots in the Congo to all of the continents. Due to a limited understanding, many individuals came to false conclusions that stigmatized those with the disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) launched the Global Program on AIDS in February of 1987, aiming to raise awareness and offer funds to countries facing the epidemic, as well as promoting research and the rights of those afflicted with HIV/AIDS. In the next year, WHO designated the first of December as “World AIDS day”. Many countries, like the Philippines, had begun to lay the frameworks for treating HIV/AIDS by this point. While the Philippines is considered a “low-risk” country for HIV/AIDS, with less than 0.1% of the population affected, the number of cases has grown 25% over the last decade. The Philippines recognizes the sociocultural risks that HIV/AIDS can pose in a country and thus believes that more research should be done to combat the disease.
Due to such a low prevalence, HIV/AIDS is not much of an issue in the country; however, the Philippines still believes that preventive measures are key and has implemented programs to combat the disease. In 1992, the Philippines created the Philippine National AIDS Council (PNAC) as the country’s highest policy making body pertaining to the disease. Members of PNAC included government and nongovernmental agencies, along with an association of HIV-positive individuals. PNAC pushed for the Philippine AIDS Prevention and Control Act, created in 1998 to outline ways the disease could be contained. PNAC also developed an agenda for dealing with HIV/AIDS, named the AIDS Medium Term Plan: 2005–2010 or AMTP IV. The AMTP IV provided targets for achieving universal access to prevention, treatment, care and support for Filipinos. The Philippines also offers free antiretroviral treatment, which does not cure the disease but helps prolong the life of individuals with the disease.
Firstly, the Philippines recommends that the United Nations help build infrastructure so that any program implemented reaches every individual who requires it. Second, the Philippines hopes that the stigma surrounding the disease is reduced so that individuals living the disease can lead a better life and can access treatment without feeling ashamed. Third, the Philippines supports measures that help prevent the acquisition of diseases like HIV/AIDS, including providing education on STIs and contraceptives. Lastly, the Philippines believed that any program implemented must be created in a way that all individuals, including adolescents and youth, can access it easily and affordably. The Philippines believes that these measures can help reduce the number of cases and the social stigma surrounding the disease.
