Key Result Area 4 Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV/AIDS Overview The 6th AIDS Medium Term Plan 2017-2022 (6th AMTP) details the targets for six years to halt the spread of HIV and AIDS in the Philippines and provides broad strategic directions for the national, regional, and local multisectoral AIDS response in the country. With the theme “Synergizing the Philippine HIV and AIDS Response”, the 6th AMTP seeks to :1) reduce new HIV/AIDS infections; 2) improve health outcomes and wellness of people living with HIV (PLHIV); 3) strengthen systems such as health, non-health and community systems, including strategic information; 4) improve leadership accountabilities; and 5) increase domestic financing for a sustainable HIV response. The set targets for 2019 are: 1) increase to 90 percent the knowledge on STI and HIV transmission, prevention, and services of individuals 15 to 24 years old; 2) prevent new infection among 15 to 24 years old with special focus on key affected population (KAPs); 3) ensure that 90 percent of PLHIVs receive testing and treatment support; and 4) eliminate mother-to-child HIV transmission. The key strategies to reach these targets entail: 1) teaching HIV in schools, communities, and workplaces; 2) empowering youth with HIV life skills and helping them gain access to prevention services; 3) increasing the availability and access to testing, treatment and adherence programs; and 4) prioritizing high burden, particularly with increasing incidence of mother-to-child transmission. Status,Trends, and Accomplishments Although the Philippines continues to be a low HIV prevalence country, it has the fastest growing HIV epidemic in the world with 203 percent increase in new infections from 2010 to 2018. In 2019, the HIV/AIDS and antiretroviral treatment or ART Registry of the Philippines (HARP) reported 12,778 new confirmed HIVpositive individuals in the country. The cumulative number of cases since the first case of HIV infection was reported thirty-five years ago in the Philippines is 74,807 at the end of 2018. Based on HARP figures, 78 percent (58,331) of the total diagnosed cases were reported from 2014 to 2019. Figure 25: Number of daily new HIV cases reported Source: 2014 to 2019, HARP data 75 2019 Annual Report Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012