SHIP

Last Friday, June 6, Sustained Health Initiatives of the Philippines (SHIP), Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment through Alternative Legal Services, Inc. (IDEALS), and LoveYourself Inc., conducted a press conference at LoveYourself Welcome, Manila, in response to the recent declaration of the DOH for a national public health emergency due to the 500% increase in HIV cases among the youth.

Together with our experts in SHIP were Dr. Louie Ocampo, Country Director of Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS); Atty. Arriane Ponay, Legal Officer for IDEALS; Danvic Rosadiño, Head of Programs and Innovations of LoveYourself; and Ranier Naldoza, President of Pinoy Plus. This panel for the press conference, along with other allies and guests in the community, provided to the press and the public further context to the declaration of the DOH and weighed in on our action moving forward to combat HIV in the Philippines.

“The 500% tells us that HIV services are working and being accessed,” shared Mark de Castro, SHIP’s Strategy Manager for PROTECTS UPSCALE—Mr. de Castro also shared that while we have attained so much, we still have ways to go, especially in providing HIV education and responding to this alarm in HIV cases. Dr. Kate Leyritana, Medical Director of SHIP and the SAIL Clinics, mentioned that there would be much to tackle regarding how we have arrived at this point in the epidemic. But Dr. Leyritana turned our focus to the steps we have achieved and the steps to be realized for the HIV response, particularly: advances in antiretroviral treatment and the Undetectable Equals Untransmittable campaign (U=U), and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) in helping prevent HIV transmission.

In Filipino, Dr. Leyritana asserted: “This can’t be accomplished just by one department of the government. This isn’t just a problem for the DOH, our healthcare workers at the hospitals or clinic, or our outreach workers and community-based organizations. All of us have a responsibility and a duty in the HIV response.”

Thank you to IDEALS, LoveYourself, and all our partners, especially in the community and the press, and let’s continue to be one in the fight against HIV.

SHIP will present at Academic Medical Education’s 10th Asia-Pacific AIDS & Co-Infections Conference!

We’re excited to share the abstracts for our SHIP research and programs at the 10th Asia-Pacific AIDS & Co-Infections Conference this June 12-14, 2025, at Tokyo. Thank you and congratulations to our abstracts’ authors, contributors, and our partners for these great initiatives, as we strive to further HIV healthcare in the country and beyond.

SHIP will see you at the #APACC2025!

This May 2025, we commemorate the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial.

This year, “We remember, we rise, we lead” with everyone in the community.

We remember the lives of our friends, family, and loved ones who were lost to AIDS-related illnesses and to the stigma of HIV.

We rise against discrimination and fight for the rights of all who are living with and are affected by HIV.

We lead to create more holistic HIV healthcare and to save and improve lives.

A brighter light, a better future, and a blessed #IACM2025 to us all,
from the crew at SHIP.

Madamo gid nga salamat, Iloilo!

The PsySE-HCPN Team would like to express our sincerest gratitude to Iloilo (and all our partners and participants) for being part of the PsySE-HCPN Training of Trainers.

Thank you from all of us at SHIP!

We’re on Webinar 4, HIV healthcare and mental health advocates! tinyurl.com/psyse2025web4

Join the PsySE-HCPN team to discuss “Compassion in Action: Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Strategies for PLHIV” this March 20!

We’re together again with our expert, Mr. Jaymar T. Patana, MS, RPsy from Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU), to tackle mental health first aid and suicide prevention for PLHIV, on March 20, 2025, Thursday, 10 am to 12 nn, via Zoom.

Please register here: tinyurl.com/psyse2025web4. And we’ll see you at the webinar on March 20!