Quezon City government promotes HIV testing, prevention and control

Maybe I'm too young. You would be frown and say, "what is this 15-year old kid is talking about?, or I may not be the right one to discuss a topic about HIV.  But a  kid, like me, heard

Me and my Mom during the HIV Summit

a lot of stories and news about HIV and it's quite alarming.

When my Mom asked me to accompany her as my father substitute during the HIV Summit at Novotel, I did not hesitate to say yes.

The increasing number of people in the Philippines diagnosed with HIV or human immunodeficiency virus has reached 46,985 since 1984. Almost half of this number are from National Capital Region (NCR) and 4,412 come from Quezon City, based on the report of Department of Health (DOH)

To address the treat the local government of Quezon City had mobilized a campaign promoting HIV testing, prevention, treatment, and control. HIV can lead to AIDS or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome - the most advanced stage of HIV infection.

In this regard, The HIV Summit was organized by QC as part of the LGU's participation in the World AIDS Awareness Day which is held on every first day of December. It was also supported by DOH, United Nations Programs on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and biopharmaceutical company MSD in the Philippines.

It is themed as "Partnerships and Synergies: The Service Delivery Network (SDN) for people living with HIV in Quezon City." The event shed light on the Quezon City AIDS response journey and highlighted the importance of accessible and interconnected care, treatment, and support services for People Living with HIV (PLHIV) and their families.

Keynote speaker, Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista explained, "For years, we've seen how HIV/AIDS has caused public fear, pain, and suffering. This drove us to continuously fight against the epidemic, We are further completing our service delivery network, collaborating with other programs and institutions, innovating, and filling the gaps in response."

In that event also Mayor Bautista, DOH NCR Regional Director Ariel Valencia, Dr. Linga, PLHIV advocate Pinoy Plus, and Positive Action Foundation Philippines (PaFPI) led the launch of the coffee table book which summarized the story of Quezon City's vision and transformation in its journey against HIV.

To strengthen the awareness campaign, Quezon City Government also turned over the "Reference Material on HIV, AIDS, and STI Highschool Students" to the Department of Education, QC School Division Office to ensure that all schools in QC include HIV education in their curriculum.

Learning HIV origin and prevention will educate teenagers like me. While Quezon City government is taking this initiative, I just hope people should take part on this. This is a nice project that will benefit us all.