Due to the rising number of discovered HIV cases in the country, the Overseas Welfare Administration (OWWA), together with LoveYourself Inc., an advocacy group helping persons living with HIV, now offers free mental health services and HIV testing for overseas Filipino workers.
Assistance is available in the OWWA Seafarers Hub in Malate, Manila and across LoveYourself clinics.
In an ABS-CBN News article, OWWA Administrator Patricia Yvonne Caunan and LoveYourself Inc. signed the memorandum of understanding on Tuesday, which opens counseling and other services to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) “struggling with mental health issues and in need of HIV testing”.
Present during the signing of MOU was LoveYourself’s ambassador Pia Wurtzbach.
The HIV testing and prevention will be exclusive to seafarers and OFWs in the LoveYourself clinic in Kapitolyo, Pasig from Mondays and Tuesdays, while mental health counseling is available in the OWWA Seafarer’s Hub in Ermita, Manila daily.
Founder of LoveYourself Inc. Rovinin Pagtakhan said that they have launched a new virtual hub called the Embrace Virtual Hub–a combination of prevention, HIV testing, treatment, exposure prophylaxis, STI and mental health interventions.
Virtual clinics at the OWW Seafarer’s Hub will also be put up, which will be available as long as the OWWA Seafarer’s Hub is open. “On another end, there will be OFWs na not necessarily HIV testing or sexual health testing or treatment, for that matter, ino-offer ng LoveYourself yung bago nating clinic sa Kapitolyo, added Pagtakhan.
Condoms, lubes, self-test kits, and other services would be available to OFWs and even seafarers “anytime of the week” to any LoveYourself clinics, said Pia.