Integrating Most-at-Risk Adolescents into the National Integrated HIV Behavioural and Serologic Surveillance in the Philippines

Since 2007, passive HIV case reporting in the Philippines showed an increasing number of cases from younger age-groups (20-29 years). Anecdotal reports also indicated that substantial proportions of most-at-risk populations (MARP) were adolescents. It was critical to understand patterns of sexual behavior and drug-use among Filipino most-at-risk adolescents (MARA) to establish an effective prevention program and deliver needed services. Since the National Integrated HIV Behavioral and Serologic Surveillance (IHBSS) was limited to adult populations of injecting drug users (IDU), female sex workers (FSW) and males having sex with males (MSM), there was no official data on MARA for better-targeted programming.