THE Cebu Provincial Health Office (PHO) will conduct a training-of-trainer for teachers on the first week of May to educate the participants about the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
According to PHO Information Officer Wilfredo Salgado Jr., they are targeting high school teachers in this year’s training so they can share their knowledge with the students.
“This is a one-week training that will teach the secondary teachers about basic HIV awareness education,” Salgado said in Cebuano.
He said they had a meeting with the Department of Education (DepEd) and agreed to include the HIV education in the secondary curriculum.
“In partnership with the DOH and Cebu Plus, we initiate that the HIV education should be included in the K-12 curriculum,” Salgado said.
He said the HIV education will commence on the third quarter of this coming school year and this will be included in the Mapeh subject.
The Epidemiology Bureau (EB) reported to the PHO that the latest update regarding the number of newly diagnosed HIV cases in the country is 28 per day.
“Sa tibuok Pilipinas ni sya, mao palang ni ang latest update gihatag,” Salgado said.
Having the highest number of HIV cases in Central Visayas, Cebu City has 2,561 positive individuals for the month of February.
Salgado said that he cannot reveal other information regarding the HIV statistics.
“As far as we are concerned, kung mo-start ta ug educate sa mga batan-on karon, dapat (if we start to educate the teens it should be) as early as high school,” Salgado said.
He said that their office is focusing their HIV awareness campaign on the secondary level to avoid an increase in HIV cases among the teenagers. /Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan Intern Michelle Jessa Fae M. Miranda