Quezon City will join the international commemoration of World AIDS Awareness Day on December 1 with the launching of the City Health Department’s advocacy video, which targets millennials.
The activity, which will be held at the Quezon Memorial Circle, will have “Promoting Unity to Stop HIV,” as its theme.
A video presentation of some of the country’s best local practices on HIV/AIDS awareness and control, including those of Quezon City, Iloilo and Davao, will also be presented during the event. An exhibit of key service providers in the fight against HIV/AIDS will also be featured.
Mayor Herbert Bautista will launch the city’s video presentation, which will underscore the QC government’s commitment to remain responsive to managing and controlling the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections in the city.
Organizers said about 500 participants are expected to join the World AIDS Awareness Day event, which will be jointly hosted by the QC government and PinoyPlus, a non-government organization engaged in providing treatment, care and support to Persons Living with HIV.
Based on the AIDS/HIV registry of the city health department, there are about 427 HIV cases among Quezon City residents. Of the total, 417 cases involved sexual transmission by men having sex with men.
Apart from increased investments for HIV prevention programs, QC has also passed several laws that protect HIV-infected persons against discrimination on grounds of their status, sexual orientation and gender identity.
Bautista also reiterated that the city government has prioritized AIDS response at the very highest levels of governance and is working closely with the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) to pursue and sustain its program of zero new infections, zero discrimination, and zero AIDS-related deaths.
The mayor also joined the advocacy for the establishment of more social hygiene clinics in the country and increased information dissemination on HIV/AIDS prevention at the school level, to manage and control the spread of the virus other sexually transmitted infections in the country, especially in the National Capital Region.
In 2014, Quezon City won the Galing Pook award because of its men’s sundown clinic, the Klinika Bernardo, which to date has been designated by the Department of Health as its satellite HIV treatment hub.
The city is also expanding its HIV services to cover pregnant women and their children, and HIV screening is among the standard antenatal services offered by the city government. The QC government will provide pregnant women who tested reactive to the initial HIV screening with the necessary care and services.