There are sectors in the LGBTQIA community that need even more support than is readily given; they should be given attention now more than ever.
This is according to Adel Macaldo, president of Ladlad, the pioneering LGBTQIA political party in the Philippines, as it partnered with Positive Action Foundation Philippines Inc. (PAFPI), a non-profit organization catering to the HIV community, in an outreach activity benefiting Filipinos living with HIV.
Ladlad has been rendering its Tabang Ladlad Pamaskong Handog initiative since 2009 when it initially only focused on assisting LGBTQIA lolas in Pasay City. “But the project has evolved in response to the growing needs of the LGBTQIA community,” Macaldo said, “especially during the unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. And this is because one of the most pressing issues facing the elderly LGBTQIA people is poverty; many of them are jobless, have no family, and maybe lonely especially this Christmas season.”
With PAFPI, 70 people living with HIV benefited from the effort.
According to Joshua Holboell-Formentera, PAFPI founder, supporting HIV organizations is crucial because of the continuing alarming increase in the HIV infection rates.
Formentera lamented the “stigma surrounding the disease, gaps in public health resources, lack of political will, and (non-support of the) private sector in the HIV national response.” As such, “support really matters.”
This is particularly true, said Formentera, since “stigma against people living with HIV remains high, leading to isolation, discrimination, and even barriers to accessing testing, treatment, care and support. Many Filipinos, including young people with HIV face societal judgment and exclusion… and so, by supporting HIV organizations, they are empowers as they take more proactive actions.”
Formentera added that organizations such as PAFPI are “better positioned to understand cultural nuances and create effective, sustainable solutions for a long-term national response including in HIV.”
For the Tabang Ladlad Pamaskong Handog initiative with PAFPI, Ladlad was supported by Google Philippines, which has a partnership with them for three years now. This partnership, said Macaldo, “has been instrumental in providing much-needed resources and visibility to the project, enabling us to continue vital work.”
A longer-term plan for Ladlad is to empower those at the fringes of the LGBTQIA community – e.g. seniors, PLHIVs – to create their own income through skill development and entrepreneurship. “By collaborating with agencies and organizations, we aim to provide them with valuable skills such as soap making, dishwashing, et cetera to enable them to become self-sufficient and avoid reliance on dole-outs.”
