U.S. gov’t donates to PH 86,000 HIV testing cartridges worth P85M

MANILA – The United States government through U.S. Ambassador MaryKay Carlson donated 86,000 HIV viral load testing cartridges valued at Php 85 million ($1.5 million) to strengthen the Philippine government’s HIV treatment program to Commemorate World AIDS Day on December 1, this year.

“These laboratory tests are further proof that the U.S. government is committed to working alongside the Department of Health (DOH), the community of Filipinos living with HIV, and local governments like Manila City to ensure that people living with HIV in the country have equitable access to a viral load test.   With this donation, we aim to amplify the hopeful message of U equals U: that undetectable is indeed untransmittable,” Ambassador Carlson said at the turnover ceremony hosted by the Manila City government.

Senator Risa Hontiveros, Manila City Councilor for Health Dr. Louisito Chua, DOH Undersecretary Carolina Vidal-Taiño, and members of the people living with HIV (PLHIV) community were present at the event.

Secured through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), these cartridges will be distributed to HIV treatment hubs and facilities across the Philippines and are expected to cover the country’s viral load testing requirements for all patients undergoing HIV treatment for one year.

According to DOH-Officer-in-Charge Maria Rosario Vergeire, this donation of more than 86,000 viral load cartridges from the United States government will be pivotal to the country’s HIV treatment program.

Network Plus co-convenor Elena Felix, on behalf of the PLHIV community said, the PLHIV community is filled with so much hope that they will no longer have to lose their loved ones to HIV and that they will be able to carry on with their lives, free from worry and stigma.

Since December 2020, the U.S. government has provided more than Php 1 billion ($18.2 million) to the Philippine government through PEPFAR to support HIV prevention, case finding, and treatment interventions. 

This includes a donation of more than 81,000 bottles of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), an HIV-preventive drug that is being distributed by the DOH in more than 50 facilities across Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon.  This donation, valued at Php 31.3 million ($552,996), was turned over to the Philippine government in June 2021.

These recent donations signify the U.S. government’s commitment to support the Philippines in addressing supply chain bottlenecks in the procurement of critical commodities in HIV detection and treatment and in achieving the country’s goal to end AIDS by 2030 through evidence-based strategies. (Photos: US Embassy FB)