Deliver on the Promise

Benedict Bernabe is an HIV activist, a yoga teacher, and a law student. Ben is the President of The Red Whistle, an HIV advocacy organization and a former President of Yoga for Life, a community-based yoga program for people living with HIV. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of the Philippines Diliman in 2006 and a Master of Development Studies degree from the University of Melbourne in 2012. As an HIV activist, he is passionate about empowering PLHIV through inner work, self-awareness, human rights education using social media, digital arts, and technology. Outside his work in HIV, he also co-owns, manages, and teaches at Beyond Yoga, a chain of yoga studio in the Philippines.

During the community lockdown of the Luzon island in the Philippines, The Red Whistle piloted Oplan #ARVayanihan, an ARV delivery service, the word being a portmanteau of “ARV” and “bayanihan” a Filipino word which means “being heroes for each other.” Through innovative partnerships, we were able to assist thousands of PLHIV is making sure that they are adherent to treatment. We want to expand this program to other areas and lobby with the government to budget for home delivery of treatment and prevention services in the coming years. 

Through a simple policy change, we will be able to elevate humanity by halting the spread of HIV, a pandemic that has hounded humanity for decades.

I’m working to solve the looming danger of a drop in treatment adherence among people living with HIV in the Philippines coupled with the inaccessibility of HIV preventive prophylactics such as condoms, lubricants, and PrEP.

1. Absence of budget for delivery of medications to homes.

2. Lack of budget for communications with patients.

3. Lack of full-time staff for HIV programs in other areas. 

Many of these problems are systemic and can be addressed by lobbying for public policies and public investment in the HIV response. Many on-the-ground service providers failed to adjust to the “new normal” and would prefer to stick to what they have been accustomed to, even if that means putting their patients at risk.

In 2005, the World AIDS Day Theme was “Stop AIDS, Keep The Promise.” Fifteen years later in 2020, we are inspired by that statement to “deliver on the promise” to stop AIDS.

“Deliver On The Promise” is a both a program  piloting and policy advocacy project. We already have an existing pilot programs on facility-initiated ARV delivery and supply-driven condom delivery. By expanding the programs in different geographical locations and to include other HIV-related services such as self-testing, we will be able to create a strong case for an evidence-informed policy that we can bring to the decision-makers through advocacy activities. 

In summary, the project includes:

1. Pilot Programs

a. ARV delivery

b. Condom delivery

c. HIV self-testing kit delivery

2. Policy Advocacy

a. Advocacy with Communities

b. Advocacy with the national HIV program 

c. Advocacy with Congress for funding and budgeting

The goal is to have these programs funded by the national or local governments by January 2022.

My project serves people living with HIV and key populations affected by HIV. I have been immersed in this community for ten years and I am in constant communication with community organizations representing them. This project is a result of listening to what the community needs, instead of forcing them to conform to the working guidelines of services providers. The project has a direct impact on their lives. ARV are lifesaving drugs, often described as giving PLHIV “the Lazarus effect” in terms of health and quality of life.

HIV is one of the most difficult problems of our world. Treatment as a solution is already available but small gaps in policy prevent us from completely eradicating HIV. This project not only aims to build awareness of these small gaps but also to come up with concrete ways to address them.

This project started in March 25, 2020. The community organizations of people living with HIV have expressed their frustrations and fears about the difficulties of obtaining their regular supply of HIV treatment drugs from treatment facilities. The government imposed a community lockdown which suspended public transport, increased the presence of police and military at local government borders, and converted many HIV treatment hubs into COVID-19 referral hospitals. The community sought support from the Department of Health, Global Fund, and UNAIDS, in terms of coming up with an ARV delivery service but bureaucracy kept the project from moving fast enough. With my request, the board of The Red Whistle approved the release of savings and uncommitted funds to an ARV delivery service which through a network of volunteers, which we built from the ground up. Eventually, the Global Fund and UNAIDS were able to realign some funds, which we used to expand the program further. We partnered with a local motorcycle ride-hailing app called Angkas, which was not allowed to operate during lockdown, and hired their riders for the delivery service.

I have had partners who are living with HIV and this is why I am personally motivated to pursue this project. I know the anxiety of taking care of a sick loved one. I have lost friends to AIDS and it’s something that I want to end. HIV is preventable and with treatment, AIDS should no longer be a death sentence.

I believe that I am a highly regarded member of the HIV advocacy community in the Philippines, who can serve as a unifying force in terms of getting the community to support a common stance on further investments in the HIV response. I have worked with everyone from across the HIV response strata, from PLHIV communities to Senators of the republic, from health service providers to artists and activists. I am not afraid of trying new things and seeing new perspectives. I welcome criticism and I am open to making changes that are beneficial for the project. I also enjoy the work for the sense of personal comfort that it gives me. This background and experience puts me in a unique position to deliver the project and solve a problem that many have ignored until I decided to address it.

COVID-19 has presented a myriad of obstacles and setbacks that has challenged every aspect of my life. As the owner of a yoga studio with hundreds of employees, I was faced with the challenge of suspension of operations, with no opportunity to earn income from our physical studios. I believe that human nature is reasonable and compassionate. We requested for a waiver of our lease payments during the lockdown, with complete faith on the humanity of our lessors who are also fellow business owners. They agreed.

We quickly adopted and innovated our operations by fully embracing online yoga classes. We studied the current market situation and sold our Facebook Live classes to sponsors who are still able to make money during the lockdown. We also brought down the rates of our online classes, knowing that fitness is a discretionary expense for consumers. 

Necessity is the mother of invention and innovation. Challenges and obstacles force us to think outside the box and look at the big picture. Everything is within the realm of possibility. When we are able to realign with our objectives, we will be able to make key decisions that can help you address the problems at hand.

Leadership is about being decisive, being brave in standing by the decisions that you make, and being okay with making mistakes and learning from them.

Leaders should be willing to take risks in order to stay relevant and innovative. When faced with a rebranding proposal from an ad agency who volunteer to help us with one of our campaigns, I was faced with the choice of approving their proposed change or not. The branding proposal was for our school-based HIV testing promotion campaign, and the word choice controversial for me as an older millennial. 

From #SAVESEXY, the team, composed mainly of Gen-Zers, proposed to change brand to #SCREWAIDS. I was not mentally ready for this change but we commissioned them exactly for the purpose of finding a way to resonate with the younger audience set of 18-25 which we seem to be losing. 

At the end of the meeting, I approved the rebrand, thinking that “I am not the market” and “I am not the intended audience.”

As a leader, one should be able to set aside personal biases and trust that people put in the work with the goal of contributing positively to the organization.

We tap into social media, digital technology, and involve new players and retool existing solutions to solve new problems. 

GOAL: Our project aims to contribute to global goals of ensuring that 90% of people living on HIV know their status, 90% of people who know their status are under treatment, and that 90% of people under treatment are virally suppressed.

OUTCOME: These goals can be achieved by creating an enabling environment for testing, treatment, and adherence, scaling up service provision, bridging gaps in the care continuum, and eliminating barriers to the uptake of services. 

OUTPUTS: To deliver these outcomes, this project intendeds to provide the following outputs:

1. A pilot program that provides evidence for the theory of change proposed.

2. A policy brief that intends to inform and advise policymakers on changes needed to deliver the outcomes envisioned.

ACTIVITIES:
For Output 1

1.1 Consultation with endusers

1.2 Consultation with service providers

1.3 Pilot program design

1.4 Rollout and conduct of pilot program

1.5 Monitoring and evaluation and impact assessment

For Output 2

2.1 Analysis of results from pilot program

2.2 Drafting of policy brief

2.3 Consultation with stakeholders

2.4 Publication and dissemination of policy brief

2.5 Lobbying with Congress.

The project currently serves 1,500 clients and we intend to upscale the project to cover all people living with HIV in the Philippines (current number is 40,000) within five years.

My goal is to finish my law degree and pass the bar within five years and use my degree and profession to effect social change. I enrolled in law school this year, after putting it off for fifteen years. I believe that the best way to change the system is to infiltrate it. I find that lawyers (and doctors) are somewhat the gatekeepers of public health policies in the Philippines and Filipino culture gives a high regard to lawyers. 

Being a gay man in a predominantly Catholic country presents a number of barriers, especially in the male-dominated world of law school and law practice. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has also put my business in danger of closure, which means I need to find new sources of income in order to pursue law.

If I’m going to proceed with law schiil as a working student, I need to balance my priorities to make sure that I will be able to meet the demand of work, law school, and my advocacy. 

Yoga teaching is a lifelong skill that I can take with me and practice, whether I have a physical studio or not. I will use yoga teaching as a source of income to finance my stay in law school. 

I also started a plant business with my partner, seeing the increase in the demand for house plants during the lockdown. 

UNAIDS - financing the ARV delivery project

Global Fund for AIDS, TB, and Malaria - financing the ARV delivery project

UNFPA - funding the condom delivery project. 

Angkas - providing discounted delivery services

Philippine Department of Health - liaising with treatment facilities to facilitate communication and drive up utilization of the service. 

We are providing a free ARV delivery service to people living with HIV. This service is run by volunteers and funded by UNAIDS and the Global Fund. The community wants it because it makes treatment adherence easier. 

As a public health service, our goal is to lobby for a public investment in this service, whether through a specific line-item in the annual budget of the national government or as a reimbursement from PhilHealth, the national health insurance program. 

USD 20,000

The Elevate Prize can help address and overcome financial barriers and give me the time and the resources to focus my work on the project, without having to stress out or be pressured to earn a living just to make ends meet. 

I am inspired by new partnerships and in finding synergy and resonance with other organizations. I am opening to partnering with other likeminded individuals and organizations to gain their perspective and find ways to improve the project.