On Saturday, May 2, PSI and its Central American partner PASMO were featured in The Call to Unite, hosted by Oprah Winfrey and philanthropist Timothy Shriver. The 24-hour global livestream event featured a star-studded lineup to offer hope and to show how much good is happening in the world even during these difficult circumstances.
Shriver interviewed PASMO’s Sussy Lungo and Giovanni Melendez on how global health interventions have had to be adapted and changed to meet consumers’ needs.
Since 2010, PSI’s independent network member in Central America, the Pan-American Social Marketing Organization (PASMO), has been working with cyber-educators to bring HIV-related information and services to at-risk populations. Using social media, they work with consumers to help them learn their HIV status and link those who test positively to treatment. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, the need for these services didn’t stop—but they did get harder to access. With national lockdowns in place and public transportation shut down in many countries throughout Central American, it has become increasingly difficult to access HIV-related services outside of the home. In the video below, Melendez explains how PASMO has adapted its programming to bring HIV tests and treatment to consumers’ own front doors.
Below, Watch Lungo and Melendez speak with Shriver during the Call to Unite livestream about containing the HIV epidemic in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as keeping populations with the novel virus from stigma and violence.
