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By Jean Natividad The HIV crisis has gone on for four decades, and for four decades the world has struggled against it. Doctors, scientists, educators, policy makers, writers, artists – people of all walks and all colors have, in their own ways, sought to make sense of this crisis and its relationship with society. From citizens to states, from medicine to prayer, from cures to cries for reform, people’s visions of how to respond to the crisis are as diverse as the people who bear its scars. The goal of this series is to give you a glimpse of these visions: the roles people of different passions and disciplines have played in this crisis that, as of March 2016 as recorded by the Department of Health’s Epidemiology Bureau, is infecting 25 Filipinos daily. In his 1963 book, The Press and Foreign Policy [ 1 ] , American political scientist Bernard C. Cohen likened journalists to cartographers: they influence, with the “maps” they draw, how the public comes to see the world. "The p

By: Mark de Castro In commemoration of the World AIDS Day observed every 1st of December, Senator Risa Hontiveros, head of the Committee on Health and Demography, partnered with LoveYourself last November 29 in spearheading an HIV Testing campaign for the employees of the Senate of the Philippines. Together with the help of the Pasay City Social Hygiene Clinic, the testing was conducted from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM at the Jose P. Laurel Hall. Hontiveros recognizes the need to decrease, if not obliterate, discrimination and increase the level of health consciousness and solidarity in the general public [ 1 ] . With aims to raise awareness about the disease and emphasize the importance of early detection, this partnership between LoveYourself and the senate is a good leap towards the battle against HIV. The Senate for the Youth Senator Hontiveros voiced out her concern for the youth and emphasized that they are now part of the key affected population of the HIV epidemic. “This is highly imp

By Reiner “Meow” Grospe Everyone has talked about a particular status in his or her life, be it their relationship status, their financial status, and heck people talk about their problems on their Facebook status all the time! But one thing that’s rarely talked about is one’s HIV status. Despite its relevance today it is still greatly stigmatized and has been thought of as taboo by many. This monthly column aims to help facilitate discussion on issues surrounding HIV testing and living with HIV. “Single”, “In a Relationship” and “It’s Complicated” are some of the usual relationship statuses we hear of. As social individuals, all of us have a relationship status - we’re any of the three just mentioned. Similarly, everyone has an HIV status. HIV status is usually a sensitive issue, kept confidential most of the time. Most people are mum about this topic due to the repercussions it entails - much of it due to stigma. In any case, there are four types HIV status a person may have, namely: