I attended another awareness campaign for HIV and AIDS here in the country last August 17 at Blackbird in Makati wherein around 50 bloggers were also invited. As we all know Philippines is facing an alarming rise in HIV infection. Six new infections are recorded everyday, an exponential leap from the ‘low and slow’ character of the epidemic before 2007. I used to support the awareness campaign for HIV way back in college by the Aids Foundation in the Philippines and even participated in their annual writing contest back then. This year, my blog is supporting the RED WHISTLE CAMPAIGN.
Each red whistle reads “No more AIDS-Related deaths, Stop HIV spread now, together we can.”
Niccolo Cosme, co-founder of the Red Whistle campaign said that the organization already produced a thousand red whistles which are being given out to individuals and organizations and at the same time getting their pledges and their commitments in our battle against HIV and AIDS. So far these whistles are becoming a trending item and are running out really fast.
There’s also another event for RED WHISTLE Campaign on august 31 at exactly 9pm (See Photos on the leftside) for a Charity auction to be held in 7th High Bonifacio High Street
This is the start of my campaign to spread awareness about HIV and AIDS. Truth is, there are reports of undocumented HIV-related deaths, a manifestation of the invisibility of the epidemic and its impact. Evidence indicates that the increase is driven by the lack of awareness and appreciation of the risks of HIV infection due to unprotected sex, which is aggravated by fear and stigma that surround the virus and the people living with HIV and AIDS.
The Red Whistle is a response to this alarming situation. The emerging trend shows that the current prevention programs are insufficient, and the communities affected by the epidemic must be mobilized into action to support initiatives that aim to stop the epidemic.
The Red Whistle has three objectives: 1. raise awareness on the situation to encourage community action; 2. deliver safer sex messages designed to reach communities affected by the epidemic; and 3. help facilitate access or referral to HIV services, including HIV testing, treatment, and support services.
The Red Whistle aims to empower and inspire people to come together and help each other in this battle against HIV and AIDS. We hope to reach our objectives through online and social media efforts, visual arts and rebranding through the red whistle. We hope to engage individuals and groups to HELP sound the alarm in their respective communities that HIV is here and that it must be stopped.
We also strike a pose holding our respective whistles in support to spreading the blogs and information to everyone. These photos will be my Facebook profile picture to increase awareness about the organization and efforts to spread awareness.
Everyone is actually encourage to repost this information so as your friends, family and relatives will not only we aware of the statistics but help the organization as well to reach those who dont have access to internet and details. If you have graphic artist/visual artists friends who can “donate” artworks inspired by The Red Whistle that would be awesome.
These artworks we can use to further our awareness campaign that we hope can sound an alarm. We are also looking for companies/establishments that we can partner with that can give high visibility for The Red Whistle, for example stores with high traffic, coffee shops or restaurants frequented by a lot of people.
You may visit the Red Whistle fan page www.facebook.com/TheRedWhistle. and I believe… together we definitely can!
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