DOH Healthy Pilipinas partners with FREE TO BE U as part of its efforts to End AIDS in the Philippines by 2030

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

On February 25, 2023, the Festival of Luv — a unique event that celebrates love, acceptance, and education — commemorated the Department of Health’s partnership with the FREE TO BE U campaign which promotes healthy behaviors to protect Filipinos from HIV and AIDS. The event was held at The Pop Up, Katipunan, from 11 am to 9 pm.

“We are thankful to the DOH for showing their strong support for persons living with HIV (PLHIV) by partnering with the FREE TO BE U campaign during this event. This is such an exciting and empowering development for HIV/AIDS awareness advocates and persons living with HIV,” said Teresita Marie Bagasao, Project Director of EpiC Philippines. “The inclusion of Free to Be U in DOH’s comprehensive health education campaign Healthy Pilipinas is a major milestone that brings the country closer to the global goal of ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2030.”

The FREE TO BE U campaign seeks to empower PLHIV to break free from labels and be free to enjoy life and love by: informing PLHIV, persons with increased vulnerability to HIV, and the general public about available HIV prevention and treatment services to facilitate better access; building up safe spaces and communities where their voices can be heard; and working with organizations and advocates from the PLHIV community, in order to promote free HIV services and destigmatize the public’s view regarding the virus and the journey of people living with HIV. The campaign was launched by EpiC Philippines in 2022.

 

“With this campaign partnership we call #FreeToBeU para sa isang #HealthyPilipinas, we hope to reach more members of the PLHIV community and those who may need protection from contracting the virus, and provide them with the necessary education and resources to lead healthy and full lives,” Bagasao shared. “The DOH is an essential partner in our efforts to strengthen HIV service delivery in the country, which includes distributing the U.S.-donated HIV preventive drugs PrEP and HIV viral load cartridges to the various government and community facilities throughout the country.”

The whole-day Festival of Luv aims to make health literacy sexy, and featured a mix of fun and informative activities, as well as concessionaires. There were also performances from the country’s contestants and winners from Drag Race Philippines and Drag Den. In addition, the local government of Quezon City provided HIV testing, as well as counseling for HIV and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to all those who need it. The main evening forum was led by medical experts, advocates, and key resource persons who shared the latest updates regarding the efforts to maintain HIV epidemic control in the country as well as offered advice to PLHIV in their journey towards being U Equals U — Undetectable Equals Untrasmittable — adherents to their antiretroviral treatment who have maintained an undetectable viral load and no longer transmit the virus sexually.

According to Bagasao, “The Festival of Luv, one of EpiC Philippines’ many initiatives, was organized to help promote the FREE TO BE U para sa Healthy Pilipinas campaign and provide a safe space for the LGBTQIA+ community and allies where we can celebrate love in all its beauty and forms: be steadfast in the face of a positive HIV diagnosis; be advocates for PLHIV and the people who care for them; and keep on dreaming and fighting for a Philippines where we can turn to each other - whatever your gender, status, or sexuality - and say, ‘You are FREE TO BE U.’”

EpiC Philippines is part of a global project dedicated to achieving HIV epidemic control, and is supported by the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the United States Agency for International Development. Certain challenges concerning HIV service delivery are currently being addressed, and PEPFAR and USAID’s support — through EpiC and the DOH — ensures that all Filipino PLHIV receive necessary HIV services, thus contributing to the global 95-95-95 HIV goals by 2030.

This is vital, as the Philippines still has one of the fastest rising numbers of HIV cases in the Asia Pacific region. As of November 2022, epidemiology data shows that there is an average of 42 HIV cases per day in the country. PLHIV need accessible and regular HIV treatment services to ensure they live a healthy life by being U Equals U.

Rodley Desmond Daniel Carza, OIC-Director IV of the DOH’s Health Promotion Bureau, shared, “FREE TO BE U is also part of the Healthy Pilipinas campaign which focuses on the seven priority areas of the Health Promotion Framework Strategy that includes sexual and reproductive health. Thanks to this partnership, we can encourage other by sharing the stories of people who have accessed free HIV services - services that empower them to live from fear, free from stigma, and free to be themselves. Sa kampanyang ito, sama sama nating sabihin sa lahat na ikaw ay ‘FREE TO BE U para sa isang Healthy Pilipinas!’”

More information about the Free TO BE U Campaign is available on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter: @FreeToBeUPH.

PH government, KOICA and UN agencies launch joint progrsmmes to address national emergency of Adolescent Pregnancies

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Officials from the Philippine government, Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), and the United Nations (UN) jointly launched on February 20, 2023 a programme that aims to address the high rates of adolescent pregnancies in the country.

Funded by the Republic of Korea, through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the joint programme “Accelerating the Reduction of Adolescent Pregnancy in Southern Leyte and Samar in the Philippines” aims to improve access of the adolescent population to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services and information, to raise their self-awareness on sexual and reproductive health and rights, as well as to enhance leadership and governance on ASRH.

According to the World Bank, the Philippines has one of the highest adolescent birth rates among the major economies in the ASEAN region.

In November 2022, KOICA, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Children’s Funds (UNICEF), and the World Health Organization (WHO) inked the agreement on the joint programme, which is slated to last until 2026. Leading the Joint Programme steering committee is the Department of Health (DOH) with the UN Resident Coordinator, Gustavo Gonzalez, as its co-chair. Joining as members are the said UN agencies, KOICA, the Department of Education (DepEd), and the governors of Samar and Southern Leyte.

“Korea is committed to support the Philippines in its goals to achieve universal health for all. This is the first time that KOICA is working on a joint project on adolescent health in partnership with the three UN agencies in the Philippines. Hence, we look forward to working towards improving the comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights of Filipino adolescents in the Philippines,” said KOICA Country Director Kim Eunsub.

DOH Officer-In-Charge Dr. Maria Rosario Singh-Vergeire said that teenage pregnancy, which has been declared by the government as a national social emergency, deprives many young Filipinos of their future, she then highlights of addressing these concerns through solidarity in partnership

“Together, we, along with our partner agencies and stakeholders — must work in weaving our strategies to contribute to positive and long-lasting impacts for adolescents. As a key objective of the Universal Health Care Act, equitable access to health services for the youth, especially those in the vulnerable and marginalized sector, is central to the DOH’s priorities. To address these gaps, we will continue to seek the support of our partners, as we can only truly achieve the universality of health through a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach,” said DOH OIC Singh-Vergeire.

“Adolescent pregnancy is not only a health and education problem but also an economic development issue,” said Gustavo Gonzalez, United Nations (UN) Philippines Resident Coordinator. “We are hoping that with this program with KOICA, we will be able to reduce adolescent pregnancy and support the Philippines in maximizing the ‘demographic dividend.’”

With the Philippines having one (1) out of three (3) people under the age of 18, it is expected to benefit from the change of its population structure towards a younger demographic structure. However, the window opportunity that the demographic dividend brings may be lost if Filipinos are not able to care for their sexual and reproductive health and their families.

Gonzalez said the group is eager to build on previous partnerships with the local governments of Samar and Southern Leyte and to accelerate the progress that they have reached in terms of development and humanitarian programs.

Besides being one of the Philippines’ poorest and most typhoon-battered regions, the 2021 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality (YAFS5) Study also showed that Eastern Visayas has the highest rates of 15 to 19-year-old female youths that had begun childbearing.

The programme’s efforts are expected to provide additional training for health workers and non-health service providers such as social workers, teachers and peer educators; work on the expansion of the PhilHealth package for adolescent pregnancy; provide mobile medical facilities to benefit adolescents; and support the implementation of a Performance Accountability System for the local health and government units, as well as a Youth Leadership and Governance initiative.

The steering committee of this Joint Programme will be collaborating with other strategic government partners that will serve as advisory members: the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and the National Youth Commission (NYC). Other government units will also be part of the regional and provincial committees of the program.

Coinciding with the joint programme launch is the ongoing congressional discussions on the proposed measures to address adolescent pregnancy.

Organize Beauty Pageants with Game Karma

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Have you ever dreamed of participating in a beauty pageant? Or maybe, seeing that your favorites often lose, you dreamed of being in the judge's chair to choose the most beautiful one? Game Karma will give you this opportunity with luxury games about beauty pageants in any of the worlds. Beauty contests can be held among any creature: from dogs and cats to aliens of incredible shapes and colors. Of course, most often, luxurious princesses, princes, and models will take part in beauty pageants. But if you want to dream up, choose a more original plot!

 
Variety of Plots for Beauty Contests

Depending on the preferences of the player, they are invited to participate in the competition, prepare other models, or even organize it in general:

● In the first case, you choose outfits for your playable characters and do everything to look better than other participants. The decision is made by the jury, and if you are lucky, you will move to a new level and go to a more prestigious competition.

● If you are preparing several models, you select for them an evening cocktail dress, a more official suit for the presentation, a swimsuit, and everything else that the jury requires. In such games, you will even have the right to give your estimates to each of the participants, but your vote will not be decisive since the result will be determined by the sum of the votes of all jury members.

● The third type of game is the most exciting because here, you will do everything to organize the beauty pageant from determining the participants to selecting the jury. You will set your own conditions for the presentation and decide the many little things that will make the show spectacular. As a result, you will enjoy luxurious outfits and positive emotions and even be able to give your prize to the participant that you like the most, even if the jury decides otherwise.

 
Learn to Transform by Playing Beauty Pageant Games

Beauty contest games are extraordinarily exciting thanks to the magic of transformation. Choose the most ordinary heroine and turn her into a luxurious beauty who will win the hearts of the audience and become famous all over the world. But to do this, you will have to make a lot of effort and show your creativity and imagination:

● First, you need to give the skin a shine and a fresh look with the help of masks.

● Give the eyebrows the desired shape that will emphasize the beauty of the eyes.

● Dye the hair of the model in the original color and make a stylish modern hairstyle.

● Choose the most beautiful outfits and original accessories.

● Teach your model how to walk the runway and smile with ease and beauty.

 

Only by doing all this, you can send your heroine to the Beauty Pageant with the hope of winning the main prize. If she becomes the most inimitable, you will share the joy of victory with her. And if something goes wrong, this will be a great opportunity to learn from mistakes and become even more perfect next time.

Game Karma has collected the best games from this genre so that you can enjoy the festivity of beauty and creativity at any time, regardless of the schedule of world pageants.