The Integrated HIV Behavioral Serologic Surveillance (IHBSS) will formally start this evening, February 2011. This is a month long event, held every two years which will cover the City of Cebu and Mandaue to check the prevalence of HIV cases in the said cities particularly here in the province, mainly focused on MSMs (Men having sex with Men) and IDUs (Injecting Drug Users).
During the campaign, there will be designated point persons: Team Leader, four Interviewers, and a Medical Technician who will roam around the said cities, specifically on cruising sites and well known places where the said target population can be found. The team will stay in that particular area approximately for two hours to check for possible persons who are qualified for the criteria (MSMs and IDUs) and would conduct a risk-assessment interview and then perform a voluntary on-site HIV Testing. Each person who will submit for the testing would get a coupon which entitles him to bring a friend or any person who wants to be tested for HIV and Syphylis to each of the Cities' City Health Office.
This initiative is spearheaded by the National Epedimiology Center, in partnership with the Department of Health, UNAIDS and Philippine National Aids Council, to check the rate of the spread of infection of HIV and with the outcome of the said project, would strategize a better plan to combat and cut the chain of infection.
P.S., if you wanna participate and get tested to know ur status, you could send me a private message. Confidentiality is pretty much kept. All infos are coded, your names are not exposed. If you wanna know the result, you can personally go to our City health office. :)
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