By Perla Lena/ PNA
ILOILO CITY — A center offering testing and treatment services for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) opened here on Monday through the efforts of the Family Planning Organization of the Philippines (FPOP).
FPOP Iloilo chapter program manager Mona Lisa S. Diones explained that Raising Awareness for Junior Advocates on HIV (RAJAH) community center would lead them to “young people who are the focus of the HIV treatment hub”.
It targets key population composed of males and transgender women having sex with other males; youth; minors; pregnant women and their partners; transactional sex workers, among others, according to clinical manager Roberto P. Figuracion Jr.
“The community center is a more holistic approach at providing HIV testing and treatment services,” he said, adding that the initiative will change the concept that treatment is only available in hospitals.
He added that by putting up the center for testing and treating HIV, they are “trying to make it less stigmatizing”.
Figuracion said they want to make sure that persons with HIV “will have a safe space, that they are comfortable and they don’t feel any discrimination” when they avail of services.
The center has its own lounge, activity center, testing, and treatment center. The lounge, which is available for free, has amenities where the target population can drop-by, meet up and do research. The activity center can cater to a bigger population.
The testing is available from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends and holidays to suit the availability of possible clients.
As a primary HIV care facility, RAJAH offers psychosocial support services through an internal support group for persons living with HIV guided by social workers and a psychometrician.
“We call this an alternative service point because this is an option to what is already in place by the LGU (local government unit). Our goal ultimately is to reach those unreachable, the hard to reach population,” he added.
Diones said opening the center is timely as “new cases of HIV infection continue to rise in Iloilo City and Western Visayas”.
From 1984 until December 2018, Western Visayas recorded 3,012 cases of HIV. Iloilo City had 765 cases. Of the number, 159 were recorded in 2018.
The RAJAH is located at the second floor Dulalia Building in Rizal St., Barangay Ma. Clara, City Proper.
Armed with an accreditation from the Department of Health and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, the center is being assisted by international partners Save the Children, Love Yourself and United Nations Children’s Fund.
