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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Catholic group renews call for compassion for HIV, AIDS people

Catholic group renews call for compassion for HIV, AIDS people

Published Dec 6, 2019 12:00 am
By Tara Yap Iloilo City — A Roman Catholic organization has renewed the call for people to have compassion for people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). A Roman Catholic priest counsels a man with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) at Saint Vincent Ferrer Seminary in Iloilo City. (Carlos Garica/Photographic Society of Iloilo) A Roman Catholic priest counsels a man with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) at Saint Vincent Ferrer Seminary in Iloilo City. (Carlos Garica/Photographic Society of Iloilo) “We look at them just like how Jesus looks at the sick. We need to treat them with compassion and love,” said Sr. Mila Grace Silab of the Philippine Catholic HIV-AIDS Network (PhilCHAN) on Monday. “Unfortunately, the stigma persists,” Silab said as PhilCHAN Iloilo chapter and Photographic Society of Iloilo (PSI) mounted a weeklong photo exhibit to mark World AIDS Day. Silab, who is president of St. Paul University-Iloilo, said there must be a paradigm shift in how society treats people living with HIV and AIDS. “We should not be afraid of them. They are our brothers and sisters,” she told Manila Bulletin. PhilCHAN is strengthening its own faith-based services after the United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) ranked the Philippines as the area where the fastest-growing number of HIV cases in the world is recorded. As of this year, the Department of Health (DOH) estimates there are 36 HIV cases recorded daily. From 1984 to April 2019, there are now more than 66,000 cases of HIV and AIDS. PhilCHAN works under the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). Priests, nuns, and the laity volunteer to counsel persons with HIV and AIDS. “We want to give them hope and steer them away from depression or suicide,” Silab said. PhilCHAN also wants to address value systems and help change behaviors, particularly of those who engage in risky sexual activities. While PhilCHAN has a chapter in Iloilo, Silab said the group works across the entire Western Visayas region and serves in Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, and Negros Occidental. There are over 3,175 HIV cases in the Western Visayas region and more than 300 have died from AIDS there.
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