Scienmag featured BukSU’s alarming findings on the PH Mpox-HIV Connection

Research co-authored by Bukidnon State University’s (BukSU) Dr. Carina Joane V. Barroso, faculty member of the College of Nursing and Vice President for Research, Extension and Innovations (VPREI), has gained international visibility following a feature in Scienmag.

Produced in collaboration with the Global Health Focus University Excellence Team and international experts led by Dr. Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno III, with team members Mr. Jerico Bautista Ogaya and Mr. Christian Joseph N. Ong, the article was selected for its contributions to global health policy and scientific discourse.

Scienmag (Science Magazine) is a widely recognized international digital science magazine that curates and highlights high-impact, peer-reviewed research with global policy relevance.

It featured the study titled “Syndemic Convergence of Mpox and HIV Crisis in the Philippines: Implications for Integrated and Responsive Public Health Action” (https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-026-02757-7), recently published in the International Journal for Equity in Health, a leading peer-reviewed journal focusing on health equity, social justice, and public health policy.

The study looked at a serious health challenge in the Philippines, the overlapping of Mpox and HIV. The researchers described it as a syndemic, which means that when two diseases happen at the same time in a community, they do not just exist side-by-side; they make each other worse.

The team found that having HIV can make the effects of Mpox much more dangerous for a patient, and problems like social stigma, discrimination, and a lack of proper healthcare prevent people from getting tested or treated for both diseases.

The research pointed out that this double threat hits vulnerable groups the hardest, including transgender individuals, men who have sex with men, and those already living with HIV. It also revealed that our current healthcare system has gaps, meaning it is not always fast or fair enough in how it tracks and treats these illnesses.

The study argued that the Philippines cannot keep treating these diseases as separate problems. Instead, the authors called for treating patients for multiple health issues in one place, letting local communities lead the way in health programs, making it safe and shame-free for people to seek medical help, and creating policies that protect everyone’s right to health, regardless of who they are.

This feature in a global magazine showed that BukSU and its faculty are helping solve some of the world’s biggest health problems. (Reymark P. Malinda, Head, RDU-Publication Section)