The only midwife in town could’ve been in high school with their mom. The pharmacist goes to the same church. Someone could be eavesdropping at the hospital and hear them asking about an HIV test.

In places like Palawan, Philippines, where almost everyone knows everyone, young people often fear getting a pregnancy test, an HIV test, or contraceptives.

To them, accessing services could mean other people finding out that they are having sex. This can be very embarrassing, especially in a culture that considers sex as taboo.

But this doesn’t mean young Filipinos aren’t having sex. It only makes them more likely to hide and have sex without any safety precautions. That’s why we see more teen pregnancies and HIV infections.

Now, young people are in even more danger of these health risks due to COVID-19.

People below the age of 21 still have to stay home and not go out. This means they are even more unable to access the services they need.

Roots of Health strives to change that. Here, our young clients can rely on our services. Young people can get free, confidential, and youth-friendly clinical services. They are welcome in our clinics if they are able to travel. Or they can ask us to visit them at home or in their neighborhood.

Either way, they can get contraceptives, pregnancy tests, or community-based HIV screening from a health care provider who won’t tell a soul about it and won’t give them nasty looks for being young and sexually active.