By Ma. Cristina Arayata/PNA
MANILA — The National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP), Red Ribbon Care Management, and the Love Yourself, Inc., will provide free HIV screening to 300 people on Wednesday, February 13, at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City.
This will be an added feature of the “Enhancing the Public’s Level of Awareness on HIV/AIDS through Digitized Arts” forum that the NRCP will conduct, Maria Elena Talingdan, NRCP chief Science Research specialist, told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Tuesday.
She said the two partners have volunteered to shoulder the free HIV screening. They will also talk about their experiences as advocates during the forum.
This is the first time the NRCP will have a free HIV screening activity, and Talingdan clarified that it’s “not because there is an epidemic”, but only to increase public awareness.
“This will also be the first time that we will present the results of an NRCP-funded project on increasing public awareness on HIV/AIDS,” she added.
The project, “Going Viral: Digitized Arts for HIV/AIDS Related Advocacies”, is about the use of digital technologies in HIV/AIDS-related advocacies, according to the NRCP.
Meanwhile, the free HIV screening will be on a first come, first served basis. Those interested may go straight to Room 8 of the PICC, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
