Last week, the Bacolod City Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) passed a resolution approving the observance of World AIDS Day in the city today, December 1. The observance was originally founded in 1988 and, according to the official website, it was the “first ever global health day.”

In a recent report from the Department of Health-Region VI (DOH-6), there are two new HIV cases reported in the Western Visayas region every day, with a majority of patients between the ages of 25 and 34.

According to the most current data from the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) HIV and AIDS Core Team (HACT), the total number of HIV cases in Negros Occidental is nearing 600; second in the region to Iloilo City, which reports around 700 cases.

Recent reports from the DOH HIV/AIDS Registry revealed nearly 2,000 new HIV and AIDS cases were recorded throughout the country, with 118 deaths reported. While the vast majority of transmissions occurred as a result of sexual intercourse, the Philippine Star points out, there were also 35 cases where patients contracted the virus through the sharing of needles; and another 28 which have a reported unknown origin.

Back in August, the DOH also discussed the rapid growth of the virus throughout the country.

“The Philippines has become the country with the fastest growing HIV epidemic in Asia and the Pacific,” stated former DOH secretary, Dr. Paulyn Ubial. A report by news website Rappler noted most of the infections were reported from “high burden areas,” which includes both Bacolod City and Iloilo City.

While local events observing World AIDS Day have yet to be publicized, outside of Bacolod City, the first Love Gala will be held tonight at the BGC (Bonifacio Global City) Arts Center in Taguig City. The evening will include a mini-auction, with funds going towards enhancing HIV/AIDS education; the Ripple Awards ceremony, recognizing 10 individuals who have made contributions to uplifting the lives of those impacted by the HIV/AIDS crisis; and a concert headlined by Regine Velasquez-Alcasid.

The DOH will also be hosting the “Right To Health” event, a free concert kicking off at 6:00 p.m. at the SM Southmall in Las Piñas City, which will include performances from bands like 6 Cycle Mind.

International relief organization Save the Children also recently launched a new mobile app called #SafelyPH, which helps users locate their nearest testing and treatment centers. According to a Manila Times article, “Currently, the application is only available for Android devices with the iOS version arriving in December.”

“We hope that by making information readily available, we can reduce the stigma around HIV and encourage the general public – especially parents, teachers and community leaders – to be part of the conversation on HIV and AIDS,” Save the Children Country Director Ned Olney told GMA News back in October. “We developed #SafelyPH, together with the Department of Health and with the support of [HIV advocacy group] The Red Whistle, for HIV/AIDS information in the country to be readily accessible.”

The group Love Yourself, Inc. has been around for the past few years, promoting safe sex and HIV/AIDS awareness.

According to their official website, they outline the goal of their campaign as “[preventing] the spread of HIV/AIDS among the youth and key affected population through awareness, counseling and education.”

While there is a primary focus on the LGBT community, with emphasis on the fact that a majority of HIV/AIDS cases in the Philippines are contracted through sexual intercourse between homosexual men, the organization seeks to destigmatize everything related to HIV/AIDS and to empower individuals.

“Through awareness, education, counseling, fun social interactions, and activities that weave these elements into a unity, we take delight in spreading our message of the value of self-worth and the critical importance of loving oneself,” the organization stated. “By embracing and nurturing our self-worth, we inspire others to do the same and create ripples of positive change in the community.”

The group also employs their #LoveSquad promotion, which encourages individuals to get tested by providing free HIV screenings. During these screenings, counselors meet with individuals and discuss subjects including the HIV/AIDS screening process and safe sex. After the testing is complete, which they emphasize is performed with “sanitary, disposable, one-time-use needles,” the results are discussed confidentially.

DOH-6 announced just last week, the Iloilo Social Hygiene Clinic, located within the City Proper District Health Center in Iloilo City, would begin providing free HIV testing on weekdays, between 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m.

Officials also noted the move is not only meant for the purposes of providing free testing.

“HIV testing is not solely intended for you to know your HIV status, especially for those who are doing risky behavior,” explained DOH-6 Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit-HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) surveillance assistant Richard Chin, Jr. “You can avail of this HIV screening as a means of desensitizing; for you to know what are the steps being conducted when doing the testing.”

Chin also noted, there are other locations in Iloilo City offering free HIV testing include the Western Visayas Medical Center in the Mandurriao district, along with over 10 private laboratories.

One of the primary barriers in combatting the HIV/AIDS crisis, even beyond prevention, is stigma; and it is not just a problem in the Philippines, as expressed in their World AIDS Day messages last year, both UK Prime Minister Theresa May and First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon expressed the need to remove the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS. The more promotional campaigns put forward before the public, like those from Love Yourself, Inc., the more awareness it brings to the cause.

For the Philippines, with Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, calling HIV/AIDS a “crisis of values” stemming from “dysfunctional families,” one has to wonder, what is needed in combatting the views of an establishment like the Catholic Church? The archaic views expressed in their statements, as if to suggest “morally-upstanding people from privileged families” are immune, are both dangerous and damaging; and the reason why there is such a stigma around the subject.

Love Yourself, Inc., ironically, provides a much-more uplifting theme than the church, a more encouraging message rather than one placing the blame on those affected.

“Self-worth is a powerful determinant of one’s quality of life,” the group said. “It is the self-perception of one’s right to achieve happiness and be given respect, of one’s ability to understand and solve problems, and to triumph in the small and big challenges of life.”/WDJ