June is PRIDE month and the KAAMBAG Clinic prepared a strategic program for BEYOND THE RAINBOW: A Deep Dive into Mental Health, Disclosure and the LGBTQIA Journey - the 2nd KAAMBAG Postgraduate Course.
This crucial postgraduate course on
PRIDE Month and HIV awareness delved into these important topics, fostering understanding and promoting
positive change.
The Department of Health (DOH) has called for a national
public health emergency declaration due to a 500% surge in HIV cases in the
Philippines. This rapid increase, reaching 57 confirmed cases per day
between January and March, is the highest in the Western Pacific
Region. The DOH is also urging the public to get tested, emphasizing the
importance of free, confidential testing. Additionally, the DOH is
recommending various preventive measures, including the use of condoms,
lubricants, and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to curb the spread of
HIV. 95% of all PLHIVs are male
with male-to-male sex driving this HIV epidemic. This statement may or may not trigger stigma
and discrimination against the LGBTQIA community, but this is a fact based on the DOH National Epidemiology Bureau HIV/AIDS and ART Registry.
By highlighting the significance of PRIDE Month and HIV
awareness, we are setting the stage for a meaningful learning experience.
We will be exploring the current health status, stigma
and rights of the LGBTQIA+ community and the challenges they face in their
gender-affirming journeys, as well as the access to these communities with strategies
for promoting inclusion and prevention, treatment of HIV infection and care and
support for people living with HIV (PLHIVs).
IMPORTANCE OF COLLABORATION
This course is a collaborative effort, and we look
forward to hearing from the participants, sharing their insights through the
comment section of this Facebook LIVE program on several burning questions:
- How do we celebrate PRIDE MONTH to promote
inclusion and genuine acceptance of LGBTQIA+ rights to health, dignity, respect
and love?
- Accepting that male-to-male sex is the key
driver of this HIV epidemic is the first step to finding ways to halt HIV
transmission. How do you love the sinner
but hate the sin? How do you be gentle
but firm, knowing that while they continue to have sex, you want them to have
SAFE SEX.
- Having new methods of prevention in our
armamentarium for HIV treatment hubs and primary HIV care centers like
pleasure-based messaging, condoms, lubes, PrEP and self-test kits, how do we
implement effectively considering that knowing is not enough?
- Research shows that although social media and
mobile apps facilitate hook ups, Grindr users are more open to HIV prevention
measures. Therefore, HIV program
implementers should be where our patients are, and they are online!
The morning session was enlightening about the health status and rights of LGBTQIA+ in the Philippines, self-stigma, pleasure-based messaging and the psychosocial challenges of gender-affirming journeys. There are gaps in the health system with need to provide access for the LGBTQIA communities. There should be a paradigm shift in how we approach patients within the spectrum from using fear of HIV transmission as motivation for uptake of preventive measures to pleasure-based messaging, accepting that sexuality is part of health.
The early afternoon session focused more on MEDICAL aspect of managing LGBTQIA and PLHIVs: Healthcare Needs of LGBTQIA+; Sexual and Social Network Testing as an innovative approach to reaching taboo populations for increased HIV testing, as well as the routine laboratory tests to screen for ARV toxicities and opportunistic infections.
The late afternoon focused more on the pharmacologic innovation of the 3-in-1 pill with dolutegravir-based ARV regimens, the need for ARV adherence and when to offer pre-exposure prophylaxis and post-exposure prophylaxis. These topics enhanced the health literacy of our PLHIV patients.
