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By Tino Largado LoveYourself’s unwavering advocacy on HIV prevention forges ahead, in support of National HIV Prevention Month (NHPM) this August 2020. With the support of the Australian Federation of AIDS Organizations (AFAO) through its Sustainability of HIV Services for Key Populations in Asia Program (SKPA Program), and together with Pilipinas Shell Foundation , Champion Community Centers , and key stakeholders, we’re expanding our reach to key communities in engaging and educating about HIV combination prevention.  Carrying the theme #SaferNowPH in its inaugural year, the activities and events all throughout the NHPM aim at reinforcing the Combination Prevention (CombiPrev) strategy in fighting HIV. During The Big Opening virtual launch event streamed via Facebook Live on August 2, 2020, Danvic Rosadiño explained that CombiPrev is a “multitude of options to clients so they have a way to prevent HIV.” As clients vary in lifestyle and needs, this approach allows them to pick ...

By LoveYourself Communications Everyone needs that sense of security in sexual health, whoever your sexual partner is. Reducing your vulnerability to sexually transmitted infections (STIs), especially with HIV, has always been a responsibility to yourself. You can better protect yourself against HIV with the new prevention method called the Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP). We have seen the rise of HIV cases at an exponential rate over the years. These cases usually come with images of fear and death narratives. But now, we can all be witness to a new era, wherein we can enjoy our lives to the fullest. More than that, we are able to show off our love for ourselves - a necessity to be cherished, and with new advancements available, such worries could be addressed more proactively. The time is ripe for us to change and shape our own narratives. PrEP being given to a client in LoveYourself Anglo Pre-Exposure What Now? Now you are asking yourself, what is PrEP? From its etymology: “Pre” or ...

By: Kris Tangco HIV awareness and advocacy organization LoveYourself hosted #HackingHIV as part of its launch activities to introduce PrEP, an HIV prevention method, in the Philippines. In conjunction with project PrEP Pilipinas, in-charge of introducing the innovation into the country, the event was held at Greenbelt 3’s myCinema in Makati City last 29 November. What is PrEP? PrEP , which stands for pre-exposure prophylaxis, is a biomedical intervention for HIV infection in the form of a pill. The drug is a combination of Tenofovir and Emtricitabine and works by blocking HIV enzymes, preventing the virus from establishing an infection. Generally known by its brand name, “Truvada”, the pill is taken before possible exposure to HIV with a recommended dosage ranging from 100 mg Emtricitabine and 150 mg Tenofovir tablets up to 200 mg Emtricitabine and 300 mg Tenofovir tablets depending on the age and body weight of the client [ 1 ] . In contrast to antiretroviral drugs that are prescribed...

LoveYourself counselor and single dad Monching has had his fair share of ups and downs, but his unwavering spirit and constant inspirations in life have gotten him through hell and high water time and time again. By Jean Natividad We were already at the final stretch of our hour-long interview, but Monching couldn't help but shed tears. It was a rainy evening in June, and we were seated outside the bustling Pineapple Lab in Makati City, guests taking long drags from their cigarettes nearby. The mood inside was celebratory. It was LoveYourself's Pride Night 2016 event, and hundreds of LGBT members and allies gathered to celebrate love, acceptance, and freedom. Outside, it was rather sentimental as Monching revealed his touching narrative. It was an emotional hour that didn't seem enough to hear about the story of Monching, a young professional, a LoveYourself volunteer, a gay single father, and a relentless fighter. It was during this hour that he took this writer for a roll...

By: Jayson Celeste You possibly might have heard about Pre-exposure Propahylaxis (PrEP) by now. It definitely has been creating some buzz in certain circles:  in fact it was mentioned in the first episode of season two of the series, “How to Get Away with Murder”. However, if it's your first time to hear of PrEP and what it means, then we invite you to read on. So what is PrEP? PrEP has been described as a promising biomedical intervention for HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) infection, and Truvada (combination of tenofovir and emtricitabine) is currently the most common type of medicine used for PreP. Prescription is started before possible exposure to HIV, hence the name “pre-exposure”. It's pretty much like a contraceptive pill: as contraceptives keep the person taking it from getting pregnant unintentionally, PrEP keeps HIV infections at bay. Also, another important thing to note that is common to both contraceptives and PrEP is that their effectivity only depends on ...