National HIV Testing Week and Formal Launch of the 2015 International AIDS Candlelight Memorial

Manila - At 11'o clock AM today, May 6, the Department of Health will formally launch the National HIV Testing Week and the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial 2015 at the Press Conference Room, DOH Compound, Tayuman, Manila.

In a memorandum released by the Department dated 10 February 2015, Health Secretary Janette Loreto-Garin highlighted "poor self-awareness to risks and HIV services, as well as persistence of stigma and discrimination in the society to the increasing number of HIV cases in the Philippines since 2007."

Garin also emphasized the factors leading to the rise of HIV cases as "low testing rates among key populations at higher risk such as males having sex with males (MSMs) and injecting drug users (IDUs)."

The 2015 International AIDS Candlelight Memorial will be held on 17 May 2015 at the Liwasang Aurora, Quezon Memorial Circle, Quezon City from 4PM to 9PM.

For more information on free testing sites in your area, please feel free to check out the websites of some of the country's noteworthy organizations:

• AIDS Society of the Philippines
• The Project Red Ribbon Care Management Foundation Inc. (TRR)
• The Love Yourself (VINN Advocacy)
• Klinika Bernardo