Community in Action: 110 ‘PrEPPY Peers,’ to scale-up PrEP services in Central Luzon

written by Edgar Bagasol Jr.

The DOH Central Luzon Center for Health Development (DOH-CLCHD) and the Regional TBHIV Support Network (RTSHN) launched the #PrEParingCL training series on August 28. These efforts were in accordance with the region’s dedication to improve and expand delivery of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) services in Central Luzon. A total of 110 health service providers and community workers heed the call and started training to become PrEP coaches for the region.

According to Adolfo Paras III, Assistant Regional Coordinator of the Region 3 Global Fund ACER Project, the need to scale-up PrEP emerged from their assessment findings on key populations (KP) in the region. “Key populations of the HIV epidemic in our region have been evolving—from just sex workers to men having sex with men (MSM), specifically those who engage in transactional sex [‘extra services’ in spa, casual hook-ups etc.],” Paras said.

“When we asked these MSM if they’ll be willing to avail PrEP if it will be made available in the region, all of them said yes. This surfaced the need to increase awareness about PrEP among MSM, as well as to expand PrEP access points since currently, there are only 8 PrEP centers in Central Luzon,” he added.

Adopting LoveYourself Inc. PrEP service delivery model, the participants of the said training dubbed ‘PrEPPY Peers’, underwent a three-hour webinar about the basics of PrEP and the national guidelines for PrEP service delivery. Project Kalasag Convenor Danvic Rosadiño meanwhile shared LoveYourself’s experiences, particularly on the engagement of PrEP peer coaches and the use of telemedicine from their pilot PrEP implementation.

At the latter part of the webinar, the PrEPPY Peers, together with DOH Regional Program Coordinator Joseph Michael Manlutac, also shared their experiences as PrEP service providers in Central Luzon. They then analyzed how PrEP coaching could be incorporated in their current service delivery model.

It is expected that the PrEPPY Peers will cascade what they have learned from the training to their respective centers and networks. With the first batch of peers, “the region hopes to increase awareness and the number of enrollees for PrEP; improve quality of PrEP services by modifying delivery approaches and strategies; increase the number of tested KPs to HIV; and enhance condom access and usage among KPs,” Paras expressed.

Ultimately, the region envisions establishing PrEP Centers in each of the 7 provinces and 14 cities in the whole region. They are also planning to expand PrEP access among sex workers and Transgender wom- en in the near future.

In collaboration with SKPA Philippines and LoveYourself Inc., this training was conducted in support of the Philippine National HIV Prevention Month celebration. The 2nd leg of the training which is on Social Marketing will be held on September 4. This training will capacitate the PrEPPY Peers in creating effective PrEP campaigns, both in on-ground and online platforms.