• WANGGO GALLAGA

  Writer, living with HIV since 2008

• "The right to live free from stigma and discrimination."

Gallaga came out on national television when he discovered he was HIV positive. Soon after he was often asked questions about STDs and HIV, often from people he didn't even know and sometimes through social networking sites he is a part of.

Such questions underscore the need for better access to information on HIV/AIDS, which Gallaga hopes to help address by sharing his own experience with as many people as possible. Working with UNAIDS and DOH, he shares his story with the communities these organizations assist.

As part of the UN commercial on the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in 2015, Gallaga calls for the need to meet the MDG on HIV. He also helped out the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) to raise money for a new CD4 machine, which determines the strength of one's immune system.

"People have told me my disclosure has helped them realize it can happen to anyone and that if they have the same lifestyle as I used to have, they are at risk.   Some people have begun to take better precautions while others have found the courage to take the test.   I've spoken to a few people who are living with the disease and have started to open up about their condition to close friends and family.   To stop living with the secret, I think that's important as well."