ONE of the first people to have been diagnosed with AIDS in the Philippines was a relative so I’m not unfamiliar with it nor HIV. Three people I know have HIV. A brother of a dear friend died from an HIV-related infection several years ago.
Thus, HIV/AIDS is not a stranger to me. You do not get HIV by touching the hand of someone who has it. It is exchanged through bodily fluids, sharing of intravenous needles, or transmitted from mother to unborn child.
I believe it’s every person’s right to practice safe sex. People with HIV who I have encountered have told me, “It was just one time.” But one time is all it takes.
One Filipino gets HIV every three hours and the Philippines is one of seven countries with an alarming rise in HIV cases. The number of cases grow by 50 percent annually.
When my friends at MAC Cosmetics invited me to join them for an outreach at San Lazaro Hospital’s HIV Ward, I said yes. They wanted me and other volunteers to see how MAC Aids Fund works and how it touches the lives of people.
The MAC AIDS Fund’s mission is to serve people of “All Ages, All Races, All Sexes” affected by HIV and AIDS. It celebrates humanity, life, creativity and individuality.
To date, MAC Aids Fund has raised $400 million exclusively through the sale of MAC Viva Glam Lipstick and Lipglass donating 100 percent of the sale price (minus value-added tax) to fight HIV/AIDS.
MAC Philippines has raised close to P15 million in four years. The money directly supports two nonprofit organizations and San Lazaro Hospital.
For the visit to San Lazaro, we were with members of Positive Action Foundation Philippines Inc. (Pafpi), one of the nonprofits supported by MAC.
“My life changed because of MAC,” said Moses, whose family abandoned him when they found out he had HIV.
“I was just lying there in the ward, wearing a diaper. I told the other patients there, if I get out of here alive I will be an advocate,” he added.
Of the 17 patients in the HIV ward when Moses got there, only three are still alive.
Medicines to treat HIV are given for free at San Lazaro Hospital but you must be a PhilHealth member. Every year MAC supports 150 people by paying for their PhilHealth contributions, so that they can avail themselves of these free medicines. On top of that, MAC also helps fund blood tests.
For every Viva Glam Lipstick sold, MAC is able to provide a person either a free rapid test for diagnosis or free meals for seven days.
My favorite Viva Glam Lipstick is the first one, a brick red. I try to buy one or two every year to support the MAC Aids Fund. Last year I purchased the Viva Glam palette.
“Viva Glam really is the heart and soul of what MAC is all about. It started with the two founders Frank Toskan and Frank Angelo,” MAC Philippines General Manager Gay Lao Chen said. At San Lazaro’s HIV ward, I met Alex who is 30 years old. He is a new patient and was diagnosed only several days ago (at the time of our visit).
He was sad and a bit difficult to talk to. He cheered up when he met one of the Pafpi volunteers , who disclosed that he’s living with HIV. “It is very important that relate to someone like them and see the possibility that they could live a normal life,” the volunteer said.