Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral

While newly-appointed as the Philippine Department of Health (DOH) Secretary this January, she has hit the ground running on addressing HIV/AIDS in the country. Here are some highlights of her work in the 8 weeks she's been Health Secretary:

• Announced that HIV/AIDS will be an epidemic in the Philippines by the end of 2010:

• Organized DOH staff to distribute free condoms & HIV/AIDS info in Manila on Valentine's Day (AP article here)

• Spent $8 million of Global Fund grant (grant total $19 million) to buy condoms which will be distributed to citizens for free (Manila Standard Today article here)

As one of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's appointed cabinet members, Ms. Cabral's term as Health Secretary technically ends when the president's term ends (I believe it ends this June). Whether or not the next president of the Philippines keeps Cabral on, she is definitely making the most of her current title, especially in making pro-active decisions regarding HIV/AIDS education and prevention; in turn, giving Pinoy HIV/AIDS advocates and NGOs the public relations & funds they need to continue their efforts in the motherland.

28% of young Pinoys think that AIDS is curable while 73% think that they are immune to HIV.

"The Department of Education and the UN children’s agency UNICEF raises the alarm on the rising cases of STI and HIV infections in young Filipinos. Recent findings reveal that the Philippines is currently witnessing an increase of new HIV infection as never before. Reported infections among 15-24 year old Filipinos increased five-fold from 41 in 2007 to 218 in 2009, according to the DoH AIDS Registry.

To respond to the need for immediate action, DepEd and UNICEF launched an innovative, interactive approach to help young people learn about risky behaviours, STI, HIV and AIDS. The Power of You, an innovative educational campaign aimed toward high school students follows the story of Francis and Sara, typical teens who face big challenges everyday. The interactive video allows users to choose the path that their characters will take, through decision points depicting drama and humor of a normal teenager’s life.

Apart from rising cases of infection, national surveys also reveal that misperceptions about HIV still prevail among Filipino youth, and more of them are engaging in pre-marital sexual activity. The 2003 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Survey (YAFSS) showed that 28% of young adults thought that AIDS is curable while 73% thought that they are immune to HIV. Overall prevalence of sexual activity increased from 18 to 23% between 1994 and 2002."

Read the full press release & FAQs on "The Power of You" UNICEF Philippines HIV/AIDS educational campaign here.

Hillary stops over in Manila

Hillary visits Malanday National High School in Marikina City (photo: EPA/ALANAH M. TORRALBA)
Before the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Singapore jumped off over the weekend, Secretary of State Clinton spent a day in Manila. Besides visiting flood relief sites in Marikina City, speaking at a high school book fair, holding a town hall meeting at the University of Santo Tomas, and strongly suggesting to President Arroyo that the time was "ripe" to seal a peace deal with the country's largest Muslim separatist group - among other stately duties (whew), during a press conference she made a few diplomatic, yet Hillary-esque remarks regarding the Philippines' reproductive health bill.

You can read it here.

PI Reproductive Health Bill gets mention in the mainstream

Pregnant women at a community health center in Manila (photo: Luis Liwanag)
The International Herald Tribune (NY Times global edition) wrote a piece on the Philippines reproductive health bill yesterday. It doesn't necessarily state anything new as far who is for or against the measure, but it is significant in the sense that this is the first time the issue is receiving mention outside of Philippine media.

You can read it here.

The Philippine Red Party

I came across the Philippine Red Party one day while doing research for the doc. I got in touch with Dr. Kate Leyritana, one of the Red Party's leading advocates, to find out more about what their cause is all about.

"The Philippine Red Party was conceptualized by Dr. Edsel Salvana, an infectious disease specialist who trained in Wisconsin, and is a "balik-scientist" (returning scirentist) under the Department of Science and Technology's program. It is a partnership between the Philippine General Hospital's Section of Infectious Diseases and Sagip Buhay Medical Foundation, a non-profit organization that seeks to raise funds for the charity medical patients of the Philippine General Hospital. It is basically a fundraiser-- for us to procure a VIRAL LOAD MACHINE, which will complement the RT-PCR machine that Australia will donate by means of their Red Party. These machines are indispensible in the management of HIV and AIDS, and these will be used for our growing number of patients."

"This machine will not only improve diagnosis and treatment for some of the Philippines' most vulnerable patients but also provide them with more affordable treatment for the virus. Just as importantly, this equipment will also provide the good doctors of the Philippines a good chance of reducing the spread of HIV amongst the greatly impoverished community."

The viral load machine they are looking to purchase is well over $100,000 - the bare minimum for a lower-end stock model. While UNAIDS and the Philippine National AIDS Council have committed to being financial sponsors, they have yet to put their financial contributions in writing. So the Philippine Red Party is also seeking contributions from the private sector. Needless to say, the sooner they receive the funding to purchase the machine, the sooner they'll be able to effectively care for Persons Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) being treated by the Philippine General Hospital.

Note: in a HIV/AIDS training session I attended in the Spring at APAIT, I learned that the average cost of care for one person living with HIV or AIDS in the US is $22,000 per year.

Add that to the fact that forty percent (40%) of Pilipinos in the Philippines make an average of $2 a day, acquiring the viral load machine for the Philippine General Hospital is vital in giving their patients a chance at living healthy, positive lives.

With that, I'm currently researching fundraising ideas that could be done from LA. If you are interested in getting involved with this cause, please let me know.

Here is info for their first fundraiser, a musical event that will take place this Saturday at San Miguel by the Bay in Manila.

I'm amazed by Kate & the Philippine Red Party's advocacy - this is no small feat!

Concert Version... The Philippine Red Party HIV Awareness Commercial from Magee Clegg on Vimeo.

status.

the colleagues had a discussion not too long ago on the subject of status. some women we've spoken to about safer sex think that their marital status naturally determines their HIV status. as in, being married means that they are safer from HIV infection or other STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) than single women.

not necessarily true.

i'd been picking my brain for ways to outreach to Asian American married women about the importance of getting HIV-tested during routine visits to the OB/GYN – without implying that their spouses may be practicing infidelity. but the only way i could refrain from "implying" anything is with the support of some hard facts. before today, i couldn't find any data that supported the idea that married women are not necessarily "low-risk" because they only have sex with their husbands.

well, UNAIDS held their 9th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific in Bali last week, and a presentation that created a lot of excitement at the event was about the rate of HIV infection with Asian women in intimate long-term relationships. In a nutshell, the report says that (i added bold emphasis) "evidence from many countries in Asia indicates that most women are acquiring HIV not because of their own sexual behaviours but because their partners engage in unsafe behaviours. It is estimated that more than 90% of women living with HIV acquired the virus from their husbands or from their boyfriends while in long-term relationships. (Bennetts et al., 1999; Silverman et al., 2008)"

the full report & its supporting numbers can be downloaded here as a PDF: HIV Transmission in Intimate Partner Relationships in Asia

after reading the report, here are some of the facts that I myself found interesting:

• It is estimated that at least 50 million women are at risk of acquiring HIV from their intimate partners (Commission on AIDS in Asia, 2008). These women are either married or are the regular partners of men who engage in higher-risk sexual behaviours.

• Thailand’s epidemic has diminished but has become more heterogeneous (Over et al., 2007), and HIV is increasingly affecting people considered to be at lower risk of infection. About 43% of new infections in 2005 were among women, the majority of whom were infected by husbands or partners who had had high-risk sex or had used contaminated injecting equipment (World Health Organization, 2007).

• In a 2005−2006 survey in Viet Nam, between 20% and 40% of injecting drug users said that they had bought sex in the previous 12 months, and up to 60% said that they regularly had sex with a steady partner. Only a minority (between 16% and 36%) said they consistently used condoms with regular partners (Ministry of Health [Viet Nam], 2006).

• . . . while there is a societal toleration of extramarital sex and multiple partners for men in [Asian] societies (Roberts, 2009; Sivaram et al., 2006), women are generally expected to refrain from sexual relations until marriage and remain monogamous thereafter. Women and men have little accurate information about sexual issues. Multiple sexual relationships are often viewed as a symbol of masculinity.

thanks to UNAIDS for providing yet another tool that gives way to more understanding about HIV/AIDS and how it affects all of us. i've got my work cut out for me.

"Silence," KY Intense ad

i just caught this commercial while channel surfing (or as the french call, zapping.. pronounced by stressing the second syllable).

the questions that comes to mind are:

is this meant to outreach to Asian & Pacific Islander (API) females? or does it "stereotype" them?

would the API girl next door find this funny (true)? or would they be offended by it?

if this is meant to target API women, what would be an effective concept that would get them to buy this product?




your thoughts? more questions? please click on "comments" (in blue below), thanks!

family planning propaganda

(photo by jaysieta)

Our process of creating the documentary film To and From: HIV AIDS in the Philippines, has us thinking critically about every aspect of human nature. It's pretty insane when you think about it: 1 choice can determine whether your life goes down path A or B. It can be any number of different scenarios:

(1) you have found the partner of your dreams. your compatibility is magnetic and you know this is the person you want to live the rest of your life with. you want kids and the whole family, but right now just isn't the right time for you and your partner, mentally or financially.

(2) you have a found a partner out of comfort and co dependency. you have no intentions of long-term with this partner, but for the time being, they fulfill your immediate needs.

(3) you have met a complete stranger. you've been out a couple times and the chemistry is decent. now this potential partner is putting on 'the moves'... is now the right time to be intimate?

Then comes the s-e-x. Yet, at times, our animal instincts have the ability turn off our consciousness. Sometimes we can forget, that this one decision can change the course of the rest of our lives. Whether it's to put on that condom to prevent from HIV or other STI's or whether it's to use birth control because you and your partner just aren't ready for a family yet, these are simple actions that can affect complex situations.

Lately, I've been in the company several young parents... observing their daily lives, how their daily thinking is in constant negotiations, and how much WORK it all is... this has been like family planning 101. I trip out at the fact that my moms had three children before she turned 25, I have no idea how she did it. I have no idea how any parent does it. Ya'll get blue ribbons in my book :)

And for those who aren't ready for the blue ribbons...
maybe the colorful rubbers will suffice?

MTV Viacom Screening of Mangosteen in NYC: Our Visual Diary

(our phenomenal event producer, Sarah Fulton, handles MTV/Viacom logistics before the screening.)


(Nissan-Infiniti supports Narra! From Nissan, Darryll Harrison Jr, lends a helping hand to 'To and From: HIV AIDS in the Philippines" producer Mary Jane San Buenaventura.)


(the red carpet entry way of the Paramount screening room in Times Square)


(PSA from Asian Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV AIDS [APICHA] plays)


(Mangosteen NYC premieres at the Paramount screening room in Times Square)


(Our Q & A panelists after the screening, answers questions from the audience)


(Mangosteen Co-Directors, Alzo Slade and Gregory Pacificar)


(Gregory Pacificar with the infamous Sophia Chang)


[The Narra screening team :) Darryll Harrsion (PR & Nissan Liaison), Mary Jane San Buenaventura (APAIT & producer of 'To and From: HIV AIDS in the Philippines"), Sarah Fulton (MTV Viacom & Event Producer), Mia C. Villanueva (Mangosteen Producer), Gregory Pacificar (Mangosteen Co Director), and Alzo Slade (Mangosteen Co Director.)]


(After the screening, folks still lingering)


(The women behind the event :)


(The view from Viacom... so ugly, right? haha)


(Thank you Viacom MTV for hosting us!)


(Nissan's Darryll Harrison is still thinking about the film)


(And out we go towards Times Square)

How to have that 'uncomfortable' conversation.

Yesterday, I brought up to the guy I'm crushing on, that 'awkward' conversation.
Well, it's what our peers, the media, churches and (some) of our famlies have labeled as 'awkward.' Now, within the HIV AIDS media work that we're doing, we're reconditioning our minds and hearts to recognize that this kind of conversation is normal. This kind of conversation SHOULD be normal, especially between two partners who have the potential to share intimacy whether it's physical or not.

Needless to say, the conversation went smoothly. After I had inquired about the last time he was tested for anything (STI's, HIV, etc), I must say that I had a better piece of mind. I informed him of how it's the standard to be tested every 6 months regardless of one's situation(s) and that this is a NORMAL habit.

It's safe to never make assumptions. Just because the person was "raised in a stable household," or claims to have only been with people who are "clean" does not make them immune to anything. All too often, I hear people say things like "I'm married now, I don't need to get tested," or "I know she's clean, I'm the only guy she's been with."
[insert LOUD buzzer sound here.]

Although these reasonings sound logical, they can also be semi-assumptions which do not supersede science. I'm reminded of the first time I attended my 1st HIV AIDS 101 Training back in 2005...The trainer brought in a young 40-something year old woman to talk about her experience and being diagnosed with HIV. This women went on to tell her story- she had grown up with the mentality that she was going to save herself and stay a virgin until marriage. She graduated from college, still celibate, and afterwards met the man of her dreams. She married him and had three children. When she had her 3rd child, the doctor's informed her that her baby was HIV positive. The woman was flabbergasted. She didn't understand how that was possible, when she had only been with one man in her life. Later on she tested positive for HIV and so did her husband. She then went on to show everyone in the training all the different kinds of medication she had to take a day and how much her medication costs per year (over 20 g's a year.) Moral of the story: no one is immune, even those who practice conservative values, even those who are married, even those who have only one partner. No one is immune.

So before anyone spits out the typical phrases:
- "I'm married, I don't need to get tested."
- "I'm clean, and I know my partner's clean."
- "There's no way I could be have HIV, I just know."
- "He's a good person, I know he's negative."
- "She's an angel, of course she's doesn't have HIV."

Let's just throw all these lines out the window.
Let's make it habitual to be able to have these 'awkward' conversations with our partners.
Let's attempt to reprogram our minds to never assume anything.

Let's pass the knowledge, get tested...
or even better, why not get tested with your partner?

These actions/conversations can become as average as we want them to be.
It's the first step.