MANDALUYONG CITY – LoveYourself Anglo was certified as a Rapid HIV Diagnostic Algorithm (rHIVda) Confirmatory Laboratory on June 30, 2020. Certified by the Department of Health (DOH), the community center’s diagnostic laboratory is equipped to conduct confirmatory testing without the need to send samples to the National Reference Laboratory-San Lazaro Hospital-STD/AIDS Cooperative Central Laboratory (NRL-SLH/SACCL) for reactive cases.
The Health Technology Assessment Study Group of the Health Policy Development and Planning Bureau of the DOH changed the diagnostic algorithm of HIV in the country. This was mainly due to the need to respond to the exponential increase in HIV infection in recent years, and the recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Center for Disease Control (CDC)/Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) to discontinue the use of HIV-1 Western blot in the diagnostic algorithm. This also gives an opportunity for the confirmatory test procedures for HIV to be decentralized, making access to confirmatory testing much easier.
LoveYourself offers free and confidential HIV testing, pre and post test counseling, and treatment for all regardless of sex, age, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity and expression. Moreover, LoveYourself Anglo offers life coaching services for newly diagnosed PLHIV clients enrolled in its treatment program to guide them in their journey towards acceptance of self and proper health management. Book an appointment here.
References:
https://www.doh.gov.ph/sites/default/files/publications/IB_rHIVda.pdf
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/316230
