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By LoveYourself Communications Moving through the eighth month of the community quarantine, many are still vigilant in protecting one another from COVID-19. Consistency, really is the key in preventing the further rise of cases in the country. Throughout 2020 however, it is important to remain responsive in reducing risk of HIV infection. On August 2020, National HIV Prevention Month introduced HIV Combination Prevention, a collection of methods that can be used in conjunction with each other to prevent HIV infection.  Aside from wearing your face mask, physical distancing, and staying at home there are many other ways we can be Safer Now from the twin pandemic. Condoms and Lube Condoms and water-based lubricant are as classic as cookies and milk! Found in groceries, convenience stores, and even some hospitality establishments, they're easy to find and simple to use. Great thing is  Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Pre-exposure prophylaxis is like your everyday armor you put on...

By LoveYourself Communications MANDALUYONG CITY (March 20, 2020) – The LoveYourself, Inc., a community-based non-profit primary health care facility for people living with HIV (PLHIV), appeals for the support of the government for the continued and uninterrupted access of PLHIV to anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs. Primarily, LoveYourself asks for the help of concerned national agencies, the local government units, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, the Philippine National Police, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines to ensure smooth delivery of health services to the PLHIV community. The organization understands the government's precautions, and fully abide with the directives of the Department of Health (DOH) to help contain the spread of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), but the continued delivery of its services is crucial in addressing another kind of pandemic, which is HIV. LoveYourself Executive Director Ronivin Pagtakhan explained that "People living with...

By Carlos Diego A. Rozul On LoveYourself’s eighth year of service, the year 2019 has been one of its most eventful years thus far. Not only has its pool of volunteers been growing, but the organization has been expanding its reach and improving its services. Keeping with this growing opportunities, volunteers were enriched with special trainings addressing critical organizational affairs. New programs and projects were also launched as a result of the hard work and dedication of its volunteers and staff. With everything that has happened, let us remember 2019 as the year it was. Programs and Projects LoveYourself, as a loving community of HIV awareness advocates, is most known for its free HIV testing and treatment services. As of December 2019, LoveYourself across its community centers, Platinum Testing Service , and offsite events has done 38,549 tests, enabling clients to take charge of the sexual health with timely HIV testing , and treatment if they turned out reactive to the test...

By: Ronald Bugarin Every newly diagnosed Person Living with HIV (PLHIV) has to absorb a wealth of information about their journey towards and in treatment.  Among the multitude of terms to remember, most commonly used are “ CD4 Count ” and “ Viral Load ” but what do these terms really mean and how important are they to every PLHIV who are on Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) ? CD4 Count CD4 cells (also known as T-cells, or T helper cells) are white blood cells that fight off infections that enter the body.  Its main function is to send signals upon entry of a virus or bacteria to other types of immune cells, including CD8 cells to fight off the cells infected by bacteria and viruses. Upon successful HIV transmission in the body, the virus enters the CD4 cells and replicates after which, new copies of the virus will then be released and attaches to other CD4 cells. This ultimately opens the body to possible opportunistic infections due to the continuous decline of the CD4 and CD8 c...

By Tino Largado and Almzora Dzire We at LoveYourself have always passionately striven to be a safe and affirming space, particularly for males who have sex with males (MSMs) and other members of the LGBT. Now, we are excited to launch a project that reinforces and enriches the core of who we are, this time welcoming and supporting people living with HIV (PLHIV), whether newly-diagnosed, or diagnosed for some time now, in or out of treatment. Through a project called “Switch,” we are opening our doors to PLHIVs who wish to undertake their treatment at a safe and affirming private facility of LoveYourself. Treatment services at LoveYourself, like in government-run treatment hubs, are offered free of charge. Under “Switch,” PLHIVs enrolled will have free access to the same high quality services provided to our existing clients. Aside from our cadre of expert HIV doctors and nurses, we will also make available to new clients under “Switch” our highly-trained and experienced life coaches wh...

By Ruben Jay C. Alverez JR. As HIV cases in the Philippines continue to rise , several groups of people have stepped up in helping the community to address the epidemic. LoveYourself, since 2011 has gathered over 900 volunteers supporting the day-to-day operations, programs, and projects of the organization. As it empowers more people to get tested for HIV, the organization grew the need for full-time employees to sustain itself. Some people had the courage and passion to take their advocacies to the next level and work in a non-profit organization while helping the community as volunteers. Karlo Barsales, Clinic Manager Karlo, was a private duty nurse in Pampanga  when he joined LoveYourself as a volunteer in 2015. He was so passionate in taking care of people that he used to go straight to LoveYourself Anglo from his workplace to volunteer his time in administrative tasks. Karlo, who was not a counselor then, enjoyed assisting people to feel comfortable in the center. Karlo recal...