Signing of HIV / AIDS strategy

The Philippines has scored a very important success in controlling the spread of HIV as it launched the Philippine National HIV/AIDS Strategy. This document will serve as a guide to all the policies and programs that will be created in relation to HIV/AIDS. President Fidel Ramos, who personally launched the strategy in Malacanang Palace, said that it is not too late to prevent a large-scale epidemic at this point, although he admitted that the solutions would not be simple. He said that the fight against HIV/AIDS must be universal and should not be left to the Department of Health alone. Since HIV affects all sectors of society, the president stressed the importance of multisectoral responses to slow down the HIV epidemic. Secretary Ramiro, for his part, said that the strategy prescribes the national response to the epidemic and reduces its impact on individuals, families, and communities. A project of the Philippine National AIDS Council through its Committee on Policy Development (CPD), the National HIV/AIDS Strategy had undergone months of thorough nationwide consultative workshops and researches. With its launching, this unified multisectoral approach will eventually create a greater impact in the fight against HIV/AIDS.