MUNICH, GERMANY – In responding to HIV, there is a need to consider how different the Philippine context is, according to Outrage Magazine editor in chief Michael David Tan as a panelist in a journalist-led session at the 25^th International AIDS Conference, or #AIDS2024. To-consider scenarios, for Tan, include: the “Westernization of HIV discourses”, absence of political will, and reliance on donor agencies that end up dictating the course of actions taken to deal with HIV in the Philippines.

“In the Philippines, we tend to almost always focus on Western sources when we discuss scientific findings. Locally, we refer to that as the ‘Westernization of HIV discourses’, basically. So you find local studies, local findings, and yet those are not seen as at par with Western sources,” Tan said.

"In the #Philippines, we tend to almost always focus on Western sources … We refer to that as the “westernization” of #HIV discourse." – @outragemag’s Michael David Tan ?? #AIDS2024 pic.twitter.com/5DU0q4MqZB

— IAC – the International AIDS Conference (@AIDS_conference) July 25, 2024

However, Tan added, “even with the scientific findings from international sources, you also have to consider the second aspect, which is – when it comes to introducing HIV medicines, for instance, in the Philippines – almost always, it’s not because it’s dictated by science, or by good findings. Almost always it is because it is dictated by donor agencies.”

The lack of political will has implications to the HIV responses of the country, stressed Tan.

Tan was the first Filipino journalist to write in the Philippines about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and U=U (undetectable=untransmittable) as early as 2016, and yet it took the government and HIV-centric non-government organizations (NGOs) over two years to include these in the country’s HIV responses. Again, these were introduced “not because science said (they are) working, but because door agencies started saying, ‘Oh, this is the direction you need to go into.’”

Facilitated by Peter-Philipp Schmitt, editor of Germany and The World at Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the panel also included: Apoorva Mandavilli, reporter at The New York Times; Ashleigh Furlong, health reporter at Bloomberg; Kat Lay, The Guardian‘s global health correspondent; Mia Malan, editor in chief at Bhekisisa from South Africa; and Armen Aghajanov, a manager at #HelpNowHUB in Ukraine.

In defining the media’s role in dealing with HIV, Tan advocated for a different approach – e.g. development communication. For him, it is no longer enough to just report on an issue, and then nothing gets done about what was reported on.

Outrage Magazine, as an example, has been reporting on the continuing exclusion of Deaf Filipinos in HIV responses, and yet “nothing was being done about them by the government and by HIV NGOs.” So the publication itself trained Deaf community leaders on community-based HIV screening to empower them to deal about HIV on their own, without the need to rely on Hearing people for testing and for treatment, care and support.

There are also changes in the media landscape that affect HIV-related reporting, in particular. AI, as an example, may produce new content, but could also sow misinformation.

For Tan, as far as technology use in media is concerned, it’s a “Pandora’s box; the box has already been opened” so “it’s not like we have a choice.” And so now, “it is more on ‘How do we use it?’. And a lot of the usage can actually already be seen now even in a lot of media bodies. Comment moderation, for instance, (can) make use of AI. If there’s one thing that makes AI worse, it’s the creation of more content. Everybody can just type something, and then it comes out as another thing. This adds another layer of work for journalists on fact-checking, on (cross-referencing) misinformation being put out there. The challenge now is how do we actually make use of AI to better the reporting, including of HIV-related reports.”

Tan similarly recommended caution in the current approaches including of HIV service providers. He cited as an example the use of “influencers” who are placed in positions of power slowly because of the number of their “followers” and not their actual expertise, and so doing more harm than good.

“In the #Philippines in particular, there’s now a reliance of service providers on influencers. This actually creates faux experts in the field, who are trying to discuss #HIV, #PrEP but don’t know what they’re talking about.”

“In the #Philippines in particular, there’s now a reliance of service providers on influencers. This actually creates faux experts in the field, who are trying to discuss #HIV, #PrEP but don’t know what they’re talking about.” – @outragemag’s Michael David Tan ?? #AIDS2024 pic.twitter.com/TokAXMw3nm

— IAC – the International AIDS Conference (@AIDS_conference) July 25, 2024

Tan completed his BA Communication Studies from the University of Newcastle in Australia, and Master of Development Communication from the University of the Philippines-Open University in the Philippines.

Tan’s presence in the International AIDS Conference was supported by the Community Solutions Program’s (CSP) Alumni Speaker Fund.

“Putting people first: How to translate science and policy to the world” is available from the #AIDS2024 virtual portal.

While there are a handful of companies that try to be inclusive of persons with disability, including those who also belong to the LGBTQIA community, multiple challenges remain, stressed Mx Disney Aguila, co-executive director of Bahaghari Center for SOGIE Research, Education and Advocacy, Inc. (Bahaghari Center), while speaking in a panel for Pride Summit 2024.

As part of the discussion on “Leveling the playing field: Disability inclusion in the workplace”, Aguila said that “many companies now (see) disability at work, and (provide) opportunity to PWDs.” And yet “even those with good intentions may not be fully sensitive to PWDs.”

A good example is the actual hiring of Deaf people, and yet “they do not provide Filipino Sign Language (FSL) interpreters at work, and so miscommunications are bound to happen”. And when such miscommunication do happen, it is the Deaf employee who gets sanctioned, thereby contradicting the “inclusive” messaging.

But Aguila also noted that PWD is an umbrella term; as such, there are many conditions to be considered, each with various needs, requirements, et cetera. As an example, “many people think PWDs are only Hearing people, and so Deaf people are still left out when no FSL interpreters are provided (in the hiring process, as well as in workplaces where Deaf people work).”

In the end, Aguila stressed, “there is a need to focus on increasing awareness.” This is because for her, “advocacy starts with awareness”, and “we tackle this a step at a time… always.”

Pride Summit 2024, themed Limitless: Inclusion beyond horizons, was organized by the Philippine Financial & Inter-industry Pride (PFIP), an organization representing representatives from LGBTQIA employee resource groups and human diversity teams of private firms in the Philippines.

With Aguila in the panel were Krissy Bisda, consultant on gender equality, disability and social inclusion at The Asia Foundation; and Carla Nobleza, Cynder management consultant. The panel was moderated by Leo del Castillo, leadership development manager at Foundever.

With HIV service providers still predominantly coming from the Hearing community, it is “just right to make them more aware of the need to be sensitive to the issues of Deaf Filipinos”.

So said Mx Disney Aguila, co-executive director of Bahaghari Center for SOGIE Research, Education and Advocacy, Inc. (Bahaghari Center), as she helmed a training of Hearing people who work in HIV advocacy from My Hub Cares (MHC).

“Deaf people, including Deaf LGBTQIA people, are also at risk for HIV infection, and yet existing HIV efforts often exclude them,” said Aguila, who enumerated – among others – the lack of Filipino Sign Language (FSL) interpreters in HIV facilities, absence of FSL-sensitive IEC materials on HIV, et cetera.

Aside from basic FSL lessons, Mx Aguila also gave lectures on specific issues faced by the Deaf community when trying to access HIV testing, and – if one tested HIV positive – access treatment, care and support services.

For Ico Rodolfo Johnson, who helms MHC, it may be cliché, but “we need to make real the saying that no one should be left behind.” In HIV-related efforts, this includes “persons with disability, such as Deaf people, who need to be included in our efforts.”

In the end, said Mx Aguila, “we really need to do more to ensure we’re truly inclusive… and that’s exactly what we’re doing with these trainings.”

To invite Mx Disney Aguila for talks on Deaf LGBTQIA issues and on inclusive development, email info@bahagharicenter.org, or directly contact her via Facebook.

For more information on the inclusive HIV service delivery of My Hub Cares, head to Unit 607 Tycoon Center, Pearl Drive, Ortigas Center, Pasig City; call 0917 187 2273; or visit their Facebook page.