Pia Wurtzbach and Catriona Gray recently joined forces to promote one of their core causes: HIV awareness and prevention. These two beauty queens were just made Love Yourself’s ambassadors, and their first project is promoting the new U=U campaign.Â
(Let’s break the stigma: 10 misconceptions about HIV and why they’re wrong)
WATCH: Pia Wurtzbach launches LoveYourself's U=U campaign.
U=U mean undetectable = untransmittable, and it aims to promote the concept that those living with HIV cannot sexually transmit the disease if they adhere to antiretroviral therapy@ABSCBNNews pic.twitter.com/FPERyOjuhO
— Vincent Garcia (@vincepgarcia) May 11, 2019
Aside from it being a clever reference to two Miss Universe’s at the helm, U=U represents the idea that “undetectable = untransmittable.” This talks about how HIV-infected individuals have a much lower chance of sexually transmitting the disease if it reaches the ‘undetectable’ status. To become ‘undetectable’, the World Health Organisation recommends antiretroviral therapy.Â
(Here’s a List of Clinics in the Philippines That Offer Free HIV Testing)
With a spike in HIV cases in the Philippines (38 new ones are reported daily), this campaign hopes to raise awareness on the different options available to HIV-infected individuals. A common misconception is that there is nothing we can do once contracting HIV, but this has already been disproven by clinical evidence. Knowledge and information on their different options just have to be pushed more.Â
LoveYourself is an organization dedicated to building an empowered community through education, support, counseling, and more.Â
What do you think about this?Â
