The Phi Lambda Delta Sorority of the University of the Philippines College of Medicine (UPCM) has announced that it will culminate its four-month advocacy campaign to raise HIV and AIDS awareness with EmpoweRED at the Red Party on February 7, 8:00PM, at White Space, Pasong Tamo, Makati City.
The Red Party is an HIV and AIDS awareness gathering, where photo-essay contest entries and winners, videos, and merchandise will be exhibited; and where advocates, organizations, and people living with HIV will be present. Proceeds from the party will be used to subsidize for a new CD4 machine to account for the shortage of such at the Philippine General Hospital.
“The call for awareness on HIV and AIDS, or on any fundamental health issue for that matter, is not limited to the confines of the medical world and its patients. It is the responsibility of each one to take part and forward the cause,” said Antonette Mariama Bilog of class 2018 Phi Lambda Delta.
Bilog added that “it is only in such a concerted effort that truly significant and substantial education and action can reach a meaningful amount of people in the most optimal way. HIV and AIDS has been a growing concern in the Philippines and it has not been met with the proportional or appropriate amount of awareness and movement necessary to address the needs and consequences that come with such a condition.”
Launch last October 2014, activities were conducted monthly for EmpoweRED. “A Day in the Life of a Person Living with HIV”, a video depicting how to live with HIV was released last November 3, 2014. The video served to re-align people’s perspective and re-educate mindsets on HIV, as an often misunderstood and stigmatized condition. Last November 1, 2014, a photo-essay competition – themed “Empowerment in HIV and AIDS” – was launched. Last World AIDS Day, December 1, 2014, EmpoweRED was active in online publicity.
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not. EmpoweRED is the participation of each and every one of us, and it is meant to be lived out far beyond the organized nature of this campaign. Thank you for sharing in the advocacy. Together, let’s take this step into a more sustainable future for HIV and AIDS,” Bilog ended.
