We at LoveYourself are pleased to announce that the long-awaited shipments of Antiretroviral (ARV) medicines have finally arrived.
First and foremost, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to the Office of the President for actively listening and responding to the letters and appeals we sent regarding the critical shortage of HIV commodities in the country. Your swift intervention has brought immense relief to our community.
We also extend our sincere thanks to Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Dr. Brix Pujalte for his rapid response to this urgent matter. It is highly encouraging to see that during the very first days of his administration, immediate action was taken to address the critical needs of the HIV community.
Strengthening the Supply Chain and Prioritizing Clients
While we celebrate this milestone, we look forward to this being the catalyst for a more robust procurement and distribution system for HIV commodities nationwide. We hope the government continues to improve the supply chain and prioritize treatment hubs that cater to the largest volume of clients. To put this into perspective, LoveYourself alone currently supports nearly 15,000 clients who are actively undergoing treatment.
Furthermore, we urge the government to give equal importance to HIV prevention. Preventing new infections through the scaling up of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), accessible HIV testing, self-testing kits, and other preventive services is just as vital as providing treatment.
Our Assurance to the PLHIV Community
To our dear People Living with HIV (PLHIV) community, please do not worry. The new government stocks have arrived. Beyond this, we want to reassure you that throughout this waiting period, LoveYourself proactively utilized our own advance-procured buffer stocks to ensure that none of our clients experienced any treatment interruption. Your health and continuity of care have always been, and will always be, our top priority.
We are incredibly excited to collaborate with our new Health Secretary. There is still much work to be done, but we are confident that we can achieve great milestones if we move forward together.
To the community, our partners, and everyone who stood by us—thank you for your unwavering support.
Tuloy ang gamutan. Tuloy ang pag-asa. Tuloy ang buhay.
