- Miss Universe supports Philippines’ Biggest HIV Testing Day
- “This Is Me: Brave and Free” will hold five (5) HIV testing sites in NCR alone
Miss Universe 2015 Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach and Miss Universe-Philippines 2018 Catriona Gray have urged netizens to join the biggest HIV testing day in the country this Saturday (26 May).
On Gray’s Instagram post Friday, she announced, “I will be volunteering with the @loveyourself.ph team” with her photo printed with “This Is Me: Brave and Free” – LoveYourself’s annual HIV testing day.
Gray also encouraged everyone to participate in the testing. “I invite everyone to avail of the FREE and CONFIDENTIAL HIV test by signing up at www.bitly.com/ThisIsMe2018,” Gray said.
She concluded, “Hope to see you beautiful, brave souls there! [hearts]”
Supporting Gray and the HIV cause is no less than Philippines’ third Miss Universe. Wurtzbach cheerily commented, “This is Amazing!”
Wurtzbach has been the country’s biggest ambassador of HIV awareness since she was crowned Miss Universe in 2015, joining various activities of LoveYourself and other institutions to promote the cause.
LoveYourself has partnered with eight HIV advocacy groups, namely, Cavite Positive Action Group (CPAG)-JCH Advocacy, Juan Posi+ive Movement, GAYON, and Project H4 (Health, Help, Hope, Happiness) in Luzon; Kagay-an PLUS (Preserving Life, Uniting Society) and Olympus Society of Davao in Mindanao, and Decent Image of South Signal Association (DIOSSA) and the HIV & AIDS Support House (HASH) for Metro Manila.
Based on records from the Department of Health (DOH), it showed that the National Capital Region (NCR) has the highest number of new HIV cases year on year. For March 2018 alone, NCR has posted about 32% of the total 912 or 294 individuals newly diagnosed with HIV.
To address this, “This Is Me: Brave and Free” will hold five (5) HIV testing sites in NCR alone. One of which will be held at the National Council of Churches in the Philippines building along EDSA in Quezon City to be overseen by HASH.
“Being brave and free is not about telling the world you are negative. Being brave and free is knowing your status and knowing what to do next, and doing what must be done next,” shared HASH co-founder, Desi Andrew Ching.
Another testing site will be at the 10th floor of SM Aura in Taguig City to be facilitated by advocacy group DIOSSA.
LoveYourself will hold testing in LoveYourself Anglo clinic along Shaw Blvd., in Mandaluyong City, and LoveYourself Uni near Gil Puyat LRT and Victoria by LoveYourself at 2/F Torres Bldg., 2442 Park Avenue, both in Pasay City.
The “This Is Me: Brave and Free” campaign is supported by the DOH-Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Inc., Save the Children, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Philippines, Philippine NGO Council on Population Health and Welfare, Inc. (PNGOC), AusAID Australian Aid Program and HIVOS Humanist Institute for Development Cooperation.
Visit www.bitly.com/ThisIsMeInfo for more details.
