Jerson See is the founder and president of Cebu Plus Association, Inc., a Philippine nongovernmental organization that provides HIV and community support services for key populations including men who have sex with men.
Why and how did you start Cebu Plus?
I was diagnosed with HIV when I was just 18 – that was seven years ago. My case was managed at a private clinic. At the time the CD4 test cost 7500 pesos, a huge amount for most people. I made contact with other HIV positive people, mainly young gay men like myself. Nine of us came together to form a support group for those who were positive, focusing primarily on psychosocial needs. I had a vision of helping young people who were living with HIV, like me. The work was very hard, emotionally draining. In 2009, we formalized and registered Cebu Plus.
Describe some of Cebu Plus’ challenges then and now?
Just getting ourselves established was a challenge in itself, in the face of stigma against our community that endures even now. There were also financial challenges. For example, we didn’t have a CD4 machine in Cebu at the time. Many of us contributed 200 pesos each, and then kept contributing, to help give poor people subsidized services. It was a personal commitment. I’m actually not fazed by challenges, as I see every problem as an opportunity.
From 2009 for the next two or three years, we saw that HIV positive men who have sex with men (MSM) cases were rapidly increasing in Cebu, just like they are elsewhere in our country. Eventually we realized we wouldn’t be able to handle the epidemic unless we took drastic action.
So in 2011, we started online outreach to connect with more MSM. We also realized that we had to get others to join us to help expand our efforts – we couldn’t do all the work ourselves as gay men living with HIV, so we invited others who would want to help, including people who are HIV negative. Although MSM living with HIV remain core to our structure, we are happy to get the support of all who want to be part of our effort because we need all levels of society to be involved.
What do your community outreach efforts involve?
We have four mobile vans – these vans are used during outreach activity in Cebu or any hotspots where our target clients stay. The team is composed of MSM outreach workers and peer educators, some are trained HIV counsellors, and then we also have the nurse/medical technologist to do the blood extraction. The idea of the mobile outreach activity is to bring the services to the client’s doorsteps or at the grassroots community level instead of them visiting the facility.
What are your successes, and how would you describe the context in which Cebu Plus works?
Partnerships are perhaps our biggest success. Not too long ago, continuum of care was just a concept. But now, through the partnerships between Cebu Plus and other community-based organizations and the government health services it’s more like a one-stop shop. We’re all in the same building at the Cebu City Health Center, which makes it easier for a person to move from one office to another, for prevention and pre-test services, to the test itself, and then to follow-up counselling and antiretroviral (ARV) access if needed. Since we started our Cebu Wellness Lounge Facility and Outreach Program in May 2013 we have reached 7786 MSM and transgender clients as of September 2014 for basic HIV education and 3423 have submitted themselves for HIV antibody testing. 139 turned out to be positive and 99 of them were referred for ARV treatment.
We have a memorandum of understanding with the local government under which Cebu Plus pays no rental or utility costs, and this arrangement will continue into the future. We believe that through public-private partnerships, interventions can be more effective as we work hand-in-hand with the local government, specifically the Cebu City Health Department and other agencies as well. When we started, we partnered with the local AIDS council. We also got US$ 5000 from the Dutch funding agency Hivos International and US$ 4000 from local businesses who responded to our call for help in a true public-private partnership.
What about the sustainability of Cebu Plus?
Our long-term sustainability planning is underway. We are assured of office space from the Cebu City Health Department. However we need to ensure our human resources sustainability – we need to expand our roster of outreach workers, possibly expanding to barangay (local municipality) workers too. We need to train more voluntary counselling and testing staff, especially counsellors. And we need to strengthen our fundraising efforts – for example, we organize a fun run and could do other regular resource mobilization events too.
How does your family view the work you do, and what are your plans for the future?
Sometimes I don’t know why I’m here! I come from a Chinese family where the emphasis is on the practical side of life, the need to have what many call “a proper job”. For a long while, my family couldn’t really connect with my work. But then, one day, my mother came to Cebu Plus and saw what we were doing first hand for the community and those affected. She was so moved. She told me that she finally understood the importance of my work. For me personally, that was a validation of all the work we’ve done, the struggles we’ve faced.
As for me, I am giving myself two more years in charge of Cebu Plus and trying to recruit someone far more capable than me to take my place. As a Chinese I am expected to be a dutiful son at the end of the day and join my family business. I have pledged to my mother that I will do so.