Crowdsourcing Call Winners Selected

HOPE Philippines in December 2022 announced the top three winners and seven finalists of its crowdsourcing call for solutions to increase PrEP use in the Philippines. The first place winner, Project SHAFT – Sustainable HIV & AIDS Awareness through Fashion Tales by Gerald, is a partnership with a design school to create sustainable graphical, digitally printed ready-to-wear garments that would showcase the artistry of fashion design students and create awareness about PrEP. The second place winner, Community-Based Mobilization Algorithm, is a recommender algorithm that optimizes mobilization events for key populations based on the data of current community-based services such as HIV testing and PrEP, and other publicly available data. The third place winner, PharmAssist for PrEP by Charles Mandy G. Ayran, is a three-phased project aimed at increasing the recognition of the clincial benefits of PrEP and normalizing its use through the 1) development of a universal PrEP access QR code and symbol, which will be linked to the (2) development of a mobile application containing medication information about PrEP use, with instructions on the nearest PrEP access and dispensing points, and (3) expansion of access points through enrolment of patients to the community pharmacy of their choice.

The seven finalists are as follows:

Holistic Strategy for PrEP Promotion and Adherence – holistic strategy that focuses on awareness and promotions, consultation and testing, counselling and dispensing, PrEP intake, regular visits and ending medication
The Untapped Pharmacist in HIV Prevention Program – multi-phase program that taps community pharmacies and pharmacists to increase awareness in HIV prevention, treatment, and stigma reduction
PrEP-Up – mobile application that will serve as a comprehensive HIV prevention tool with basic information and links to resources on HIV/STI prevention, testing, PrEP information, and provider locators
Mask for Awareness – movable mask dispenser offering free face masks with PrEP infographics inside the packaging, which can be strategically placed in accessible locations in the community such as high-demand establishments
PrEPR: PreP Reinforced – closed-loop data ecosystem that aims to enable clinics and clients to monitor PrEP issuances. It includes the PrEPr Clinics App for the delivery of PrEP services, a Clients App to facilitate virtual consultations, refill requests, and monitoring of PrEP use, and a Clients module with a social networking feature for users to interact
PoSH! (A streamlined dating mobile application) – mobile application that works like a dating app application, with a streamlined agenda of educating Filipinos about PrEP. The “dating” progresses as the key population becomes knowledgeable about PrEP and they begin doing “meet-ups” for face-to-face counseling and availing of PrEP.
CBS Motivators for PrEp! – program to train and dispatch case-based surveillance (CBS) motivators to assist individuals on HIV testing and using preventive measures such as PrEP