DOH logs more than 4,600 new HIV cases in first quarter of 2026
The Department of Health recorded more than 4,600 new HIV cases in the Philippines during the first quarter of the year,
According to its latest data, there were 4,633 newly confirmed cases from January to March. This figure is 9% higher than the number of cases recorded in the same period last year.
Of the total number, 1,104 individuals, or 24%, were already suffering from advanced HIV at the time they were diagnosed.
The average number of daily cases stood at 51, lower than the 57 daily cases recorded in the same quarter of 2025. Meanwhile, the monthly average reached 1,544 cases, down by 9% from last year’s 1,693.
The National Capital Region logged the highest number of infections with 989 cases, followed by Calabarzon with 808, Central Luzon with 551, Soccsksargen with 277, and the Davao region with 263. Together, these regions accounted for 62% of all reported infections.
Most of the newly confirmed cases involved men, with 4,381 infections recorded among males and 252 among females.
In 2021, UNAIDS set the 95–95–95 global target for HIV by 2030, wherein 95% of people with HIV know their status, 95% of those who know their status are on antiretroviral therapy, and 95% on ART achieve viral suppression.
In the country, however, 55% of the people living with HIV have been diagnosed or laboratory-confirmed, 69% are currently on life-saving ART, while only 55% were virally suppressed on ART.
