Know Your Status Week – Philippines (AMSA-Philippines)

Name of the activity: Know Your Status Week

Country/NMO: Philippines (AMSA-Philippines)

Program: HIV/AIDS & Other STIs

Contact information: [email protected]

Type of the activity: Campaign

General description:

A week-long event that aims to provide the ASMPH community knowledge and insight on their HIV status and the plights of people living with HIV by inviting partner organizations in and outside the school

Focus area:

Removing stigmatization and empowering people living with HIV

Problem statement:

Stigma regarding HIV and AIDS exist up to this day. Part of that is the challenge in getting medical students to be more open to HIV testing and discussions on sexual health. So, how could we ever fight the stigma when it resides in us, the future medical practitioners? Know Your Status Week was set on the goal of breaking free from the world-wide stigma by providing in-campus free HIV testing, and/or free off-campus HIV testing with counseling services, to students and employees in ASMPH.

Target groups and beneficiaries:

The target audience is composed of Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health’s students, staff, and faculty.

Objectives and indicators of success:

– At least 20 people get an HIV test within the week
– At least 500 people are reached through the main poster on the social media page
– At least 10 people attend EmpoweRED
– Partnerships with several school organizations were secured.
— The External Affairs Council (EAC) of ASMPH became the co-owners of the project. They were placed in charge of contacting external organizations to set up booths in the main corridor of the school during the week.
— The Public Health Council of ASMPH agreed to produce an informative video about the social determinants of HIV.
— The Ateneo Med Dance Group agreed to produce an engaging dance video that encouraged HIV testing.
– Partnerships with several external organizations were secured.
— LoveYourself Inc. became our external testing partner.
— The HIV and AIDS Support House Inc. (HASH) became our on-campus screening partner.
— Phi Lambda Delta Sorority from the UP College of Medicine agreed to giving a talk on equipping medical students with the skills to handle HIV-positive patients in the wards, entitled “EmpoweRED.”
— Promotional materials were created by the ACSIS Documentations and Publications team.
— A call for submissions of artwork that encouraged HIV testing was posted on the ACSIS Facebook page.
— The ACSIS executive board agreed to provide transportation to LoveYourself for HIV testing.

Methodology:

We envisioned a whole week activity in which our medical school community could have the opportunity to have on-site HIV testing.

Plans for evaluation:

Know Your Status Week received a 4/5 rating in the evaluations. Feedback was mostly positive, praising the project for fostering a positive, healthy discussion surrounding reproductive health.