City Health goes pro-active On STD, infections monitor

GOING pro-active over the threat of sexually transmitted diseases (STD) in the rearing of the city's nightlife, Tagbilaran City Health Office (CHO) finally met with bar operators Thursday May 06, 2006 , to tackle some important issues on employing guest relations officers (GRO).

The meeting, a reset of a poorly responded one earlier called was also called to generate cooperation among operators in a plan to form a group to monitor, police, provide appropriate safety measures to city commercial sex workers. The city hall call also hopes to track and help workers who might or are sexually at risk to prevent if not minimize the risk of sexually transmitted infections (STI) especially the dreaded Human Immuno Virus onset.

This development came after CHO representatives attended a seminar on initiating local responses to STI/HIV/AIDS among LGU partners. Eastern Samar and Bohol intend to implement what was studied and discussed and to follow the generally successful example of Metropolitan Cebu City .

How to do it, CHO proposes a record card for all GROs and “entertainers” which bears the worker's photo and a record which indicates validated dates of examinations and corresponding remarks authenticated by the bar owners as well as by the health office during their regular monitoring check-ups. The cards will be basis for bar owners to check whether their GROs have conscientiously and regularly done regular check-ups so signs of infections and STDs can be tracked.

This will also help the bar owners in cross-checking some of the girls who bar-hop. These cards can help trace the origins of the workers infected with diseases and the plan may also be applicable province-wide. Despite Bohol 's conservative atmosphere, being a tourist destination subsequently attracts a different kind of “entertainment industry”. As of late last year, reports confirm 3 HIV positive cases in Bohol that the CHO is not putting its guards down Furthermore, CHO also contemplates on creating a comprehensive HIV/AIDS Council supported by laws and allocated operational funds.

l