The Department of Health (DoH) reminded the public over the weekend that practicing safe sex, such as by using condoms and consistently taking oral Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), reduces the risk of contracting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

PrEP is a medication that individuals at risk for HIV take to prevent the virus from being transmitted through sex or injection drug use. According to HIV.gov, PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by about 99 percent when taken as prescribed.

During the commemoration of World AIDS Day on Sunday, 1 December, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa emphasized that “early detection is key to managing the virus and improving health outcomes.”

“Practice safe sex, regularly undergo HIV testing, and encourage your peers to do the same. It is only through collective action that we will be able to end the HIV epidemic in the country,” Herbosa said.

“We must all work together to ensure that those who need it most — especially people living with HIV and other key populations — can access our HIV services without difficulty or stigma,” he added.

The Philippines is recognized as one of the countries with the fastest-growing HIV epidemics in Asia.

In response to the rising cases of HIV and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in the country, the DoH recently collaborated with the Philippine National AIDS Council to officially launch the “Undetectable — Untransmittable” campaign to fight the HIV/AIDS stigma and effectively raise awareness of prevention, testing, and treatment.