Shell joins fight against HIV/AIDS in Palawan

• Source:http://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news/living/shell-joins-fight-against-hivaids-palawan
• Saturday, July 23, 2016

(Malaya Business Insight)

There are hundreds of new HIV/AIDS cases in the Philippines every month. In 2015 alone, 7,829 cases were recorded, according to the Integrated HIV Behavioral Serologic Surveillance (IHBSS) conducted by the Epidemiology Bureau of Department of Health. Furthermore, in Palawan under Region IV-B, HIV continues to increase, with 40 new cases in 2015. In the same year, figures show that its capital, Puerto Princesa, ranked 3rd out of 36 cities having the highest HIV prevalence among men having sex with men.

As a response to the healthcare need of the community, a multi-sectoral group composed of Project: Health, Help, Hope, Happiness (Project H4), The Love Yourself Inc. (TLY), Department of Health (DOH) Region IV-B, and Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Inc. (PSFI) came together in setting up a volunteer-run community center–a safe haven where people can take an HIV test without the fear of discrimination or prejudice.

Dubbed “Amos Tara!” or “Let’s go!” in the Cuyunon dialect, the community center is located in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan and was recently inaugurated to the public. “I hope people don’t see it as an HIV clinic, but a community center, a youth center, a place to be happy and safe,” said PSFI programme manager Marvi Trudeau.

Aside from counseling and testing, Amos Tara! will be the venue for HIV 101 mini-sessions, which aims to promote peer education, as well as livelihood and personality development among the youth.

According to PSFI executive director Edgardo Veron Cruz, businesses and even the economy of country will get affected if employees increasingly become afflicted with HIV/AIDS. As such, the foundation has started to become proactive in fighting the disease through its program called the Philippine Business Sector Response (PBSR) to HIV/AIDS.

PSFI launched the program with the aim of encouraging companies to have access to information, training, and services, necessary for the institution of workplace policies and programs on HIV and AIDS.

The program’s area of coverage initially focused on the National Capital Region, and then expanded to Batangas and Palawan, where Shell has work sites equipped with ground breaking technology for developing new energy sources. Through its involvement in the creation of Amos Tara!, PSFI has also stepped up the fight in helping save lives in the province.