DOH urges Marcos to declare national health emergency amid HIV surge

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HIV is now spreading faster in the Philippines than anywhere else in the Western Pacific, prompting the Department of Health (DOH) to call on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to declare the crisis a national public health emergency.

Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa issued the appeal in a video statement on Tuesday, June 3, warning that HIV—not mpox—is the more urgent threat facing Filipinos today. He noted that nearly all of the country’s mpox-related deaths were due to complications from advanced HIV. According to Herbosa in an Inquirer report,

“Almost all of the mpox fatalities in the country died not by mpox itself, but due to complications caused by advanced HIV.”

From January to March 2025, the DOH recorded 5,101 newly diagnosed HIV cases, or an average of 57 per day. This represents a 338-percent increase from 2013, when just 13 daily infections were being logged.

The sharpest increases are occurring among adolescents and young adults.

DOH surveillance shows that between 2002 and 2005, most HIV cases were in individuals aged 35 to 49. Since 2006, the 25 to 34 age group has seen the highest concentration. Over the past five years, cases among those under 15 have grown by 133 percent, while those aged 15 to 24 increased by 106 percent.

Herbosa noted that infections among Filipinos aged 15 to 25 have risen by 500 percent, a shift that he said highlights the need to focus prevention efforts on younger age groups.

Also alarming is the number of people being diagnosed only after the disease has progressed. In the first quarter of 2025, 1,122 cases—or 22 percent of new diagnoses—were already at the advanced HIV disease (AHD) stage. That figure is 12 percent higher than during the same period in 2024.

Since the country began tracking HIV in 1984, a total of 148,831 cases have been reported as of March 2025. Projections from the DOH suggest that if no significant action is taken, that number could rise sharply in the coming years. The number of people living with HIV in the Philippines could increase by 76 percent by December 2025, reaching an estimated 252,800. Without expanded prevention and support services, Herbosa warned, the total could exceed 400,000 by 2030.

A public health emergency declaration, Herbosa said, would mobilize all sectors of government and society to strengthen the response to HIV. This level of coordination, he explained, would mirror the approach used during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the country last declared a national health emergency in March 2020. That declaration remained in place until July 2023. Republic Act No. 11332 grants the President authority to declare such emergencies and activate national response mechanisms.

“With a national public health emergency for HIV, every sector in the society will help to address this,” Herbosa said in the same report.

The DOH is urging individuals, particularly those who are sexually active, to practice safe sex and undergo regular HIV testing. These services are available for free at local clinics, primary care facilities, health centers, and through mobile testing units.

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), a once-daily oral medication, has also proven effective in preventing HIV infection, particularly among individuals with multiple sexual partners or those at higher risk.

Sexual contact remains the leading mode of transmission, with a significant portion of new infections occurring among men who have sex with men—a trend observed since 2007.

While the Philippines continues to have one of the lowest overall HIV prevalence rates globally, health experts warn that the pace of growth demands immediate and coordinated action.(MyTVCebu)