PH Consulate Holds Workshop for OFWs on HIV-AIDS Awareness

Deputy Consul General Germinia V. Aguilar-Usudan (center in purple) and AIDS Concern personnel pose for a group photo with participants at HIV-AIDS Awareness lecture-workshop on 16 December 2018 at the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong Conference Room. (Hong Kong PCG photo)

HONG KONG 17 January 2019 — The Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong, in coordination with AIDS Concern organized an HIV-AIDS Awareness Lecture-Workshop and Screening on 16 December 2018 at the Consulate General’s conference room.

AIDS Concern Protection Officer Pam Poon Wing Man gave some 50 Filipino attendees an overview of HIV and AIDS, their symptoms, and its modes of transmission. With AIDS Concern Assistant Programme Manager Wong Ka Ming, Ms. Poon also discussed ways to combat HIV and AIDS by quashing myths on condom use and other sexual practices.

Several attendees were screened for HIV-AIDS and blood sugar after the lecture-workshop by Ms. Poon and Mr. Wong, with the assistance of AIDS Concern part-time staff Kwan Lap Keung and intern Chan Chak Yue Cherry. Prior to the actual screening, the attendees were counseled on possible outcomes of the screening.

Due to an unexpected high turnout of attendees, AIDS Concern has scheduled a Sunday appointment in February 2019 for the rest of the participants for a full check-up including HIV-AIDS, blood sugar, and various sexually transmitted diseases.

During her closing remarks, Deputy Consul General Germinia V. Aguilar-Usudan emphasized the importance of providing health awareness programs for OFWs in Hong Kong, and thanked the attendees for actively participating in the event. She also sought their help on spreading awareness about HIV-AIDS within Filipino Community in Hong Kong.

AIDS Concern is Hong Kong’s first non-government charity organization committed to the service of AIDS care in the city.

The project was held under the auspices of the Consulate General’s Gender and Development program and was its third project in observance of the 18-day Campaign to End Violence Against Women. It is also a project in observance of the AIDS Awareness Month. END

For more information, visit www.hongkongpcg.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHLinHK/

AIDS Concern Protection Officer Pam Poon Wing Man explains how HIV-AIDS is transmitted in the AIDS Awareness lecture-workshop on 16 December 2018, Sunday, at the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong Conference Room. (Hong Kong PCG photo)

Wong Ka Ming of AIDS Concern briefs Filipino attendees about the screening procedure and counseled on possible outcomes of the screening, during the HIV-AIDS Awareness lecture-workshop on 16 December 2018 at the Philippine Consulate Genera in Hong Kongl. (Hong Kong PCG photo)