Health officials are raising their concerns over the sudden increase of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) cases among the youth in Cebu City, an early sign of a public health crisis if not contained.
In an interview with Vital Signs, pediatrician and Kaambag Clinic HIV/Aids Core Team Dr. Kathleen Joyce Del Carmen disclosed a grim reality: a 300% increase in HIV cases in both below 15 years old and the 15-24 years old age groups within the past five years.
Cebu City also logged 101 new cases of HIV during the first quarter of 2025, 27% of which are individuals aged 15 to 24 years old. Cebu City Health Department social hygiene physician Dr. Kimberly Sanchez said that most of the persons living with HIV “are males who have had sexual contact with fellow males, and those who shared needles while indulged in illegal drug use.”
The new cases are almost half of the total number of HIV cases in Central Visayas at 255, and catapulted the region to join the ranks of the National Capital Region, CALABARZON, Central Luzon, Davao Region, and Wester Visayas to account for 69% of all new cases in the entire country.
This prompted the Department of Health (DOH) to officially declare HIV a public health emergency following a whopping 500% increase in new infections and AIDS-related deaths over the past decade.
Sun Star further detailed that 26,700 new infections were reported nationwide in 2023 alone. This translated to some 50 new cases every day, alongside 1,700 AIDS-related deaths.
The Philippines logged a total of 153,798 cases as of June 2025, a direct contrast to other nations who have seen their HIV rates “stabilize or fall.”
“Globally, HIV infections are decreasing. Here, they continue to rise,” Del Carmen said.
But what worries local health workers more is the surge of young Filipinos being diagnosed with HIV. Positive cases among babies have been discovered by doctors, while the youngest sexually transmitted case came from a 15-year-old.
77% of HIV cases involve men who have sex with men (MSM), 12% come from partners of key populations, 6% from people who inject drugs, and 5% from other causes.
“This tells us that our youth are getting infected younger and faster,” said Del Carmen.
