Before coming to the Philippines, I did not expect that I would be doing much work in the field of HIV/AIDS. I saw the numbers of people who are living with HIV and was told that it wasn't serious here. I heard other volunteers even ask why the Peace Corps was putting money towards HIV/AIDS prevention when it "wasn't an issue here." I was confused about this because I knew that between the sex industry, tourism industry and drug use here, that it had to be more serious than what was being reported. Unfortunately, I was right.
Since there are so many myths, if there is any awareness of HIV/AIDS at all (especially in the provinces), stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS here and lack of access to information and testing, people rarely get tested outside of the major cities. It is estimated that only 6% of the entire infected population is tested. So knowing all of these things, HIV/AIDS is about to go crazy here. There's the increase in risky behaviors paired with the low level of prevention methods. Between 2007 and 2013, there is a 1200% increase in the number of reported HIV infections. Between 2012 and this time, now in 2013, the newly reported cases of HIV has increased by 79%. The Philippines is one of only 7 countries in the entire world where the rate of HIV infection is increasing. The graph says it all (and keep in mind the MANY unreported cases):
From 1984 to 2013, 93% of the HIV transmission in the Philippines has been through sexual contact. The secretive nature of sex here, strong pressure from the Church not to use condoms, the high number of oversees Filipino workers and the high number of women and men working in prostitution add so much fuel to the fire. For example, there is a population of men here who are married, but they frequently have sex with other men. They get infected from engaging in unprotected sex and then bring it back home to their wives.
These are only some of the learnings that came out of the HIV/AIDS Behavior Change Workshop with the Peace Corps last week. I am so glad that my Regional Manager, Joji, asked me to apply. My organization, Simon, has easy access to educating a lot of youth about HIV/AIDS. With our area-based youth enhancement activities, we have a captive audience of over 300 children and youth in 12 different municipalities. Of those 12 areas, there are 2 trained youth leaders who conduct monthly sessions on self-awareness, peer relationships, etc. We will now integrate HIV/AIDS education into our area-based activities.
Janice, one of the youth leaders, was going to join Sarah, my Simon counterpart, and I in Manila for the workshop, but she cancelled 12 hours before we were going to leave. Sarah and I definitely were in duck mode- our legs were going wild under the surface, but we were calm above water. We got so lucky when Roman agreed to come at 8PM Sunday night (the bus was leaving for Manila at 8AM Monday morning). On top of it all, there were no bus tickets left for me because of everyone traveling back to Manila after the election. I had to buy a plane ticket out of an airport 3 hours away for plenty of pesos the day before in order to get to the workshop on time. But we all made it and rocked the workshop. After hearing the reality of HIV/AIDS in the Philippines during our first session on day one, Roman turned to me and whispered, "Ate Rachael, what can we do about this?" Great question, Roman!
One of the highlights of the workshop, besides hearing from the leading doctors and advocates in the Philippines and presenting project ideas to USAID, was the panel of HIV/AIDS peer educators. There were 6 peer educators and people living with HIV from PAFPI in Manila and Wanggo Gallaga, one of the first openly gay men and person in the Philippines to come out that he is HIV positive. Since HIV/AIDS is not discussed much, this was the first time that most of our Filipino counterparts, youth and adult, had met someone who is living with HIV. It was an amazing panel. They were honest with sharing their experiences and answering our questions. One of the panel members is even moving to Bicol Regional Teaching and Training Hospital (BRTTH) in Legazpi to work on HIV/AIDS testing. BRTTH is adjacent to our Simon office and he has already said that he will work with us! I was so proud of my counterparts throughout the whole three day workshop, but especially during the panel for their insightful questions.
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| Roman and Sarah with our poster. Since we primarily work with people who have disabilities, they are our target audience. They are at risk and not always included in the discussion. For example, using interpreters for education sessions or during testing appointments. |
Sidenote- When we got off on the 6th floor of the PNB Building in Manila to go to the Peace Corps office, Roman turned to me and said, "Ate Rachael, that was my first elevator."
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