Mental health problems can strike anyone, but people with severe diseases and difficulties in lives are more likely to experience a range of mental health issues.
We partner with government and non-governmental organisations to offer mental health services to special groups such as HIV patients, single parents and cancer patients etc.
Voluntary Consultation Services to people living with HIV
People living with HIV (PLHIV) has high prevalence of psychiatric morbidity. Their needs are however not sufficiently addressed due to social stigma and misunderstandings. In October 2013, our Chairman, Dr. David Lau, specialist in psychiatry, was appointed as the honorary consultant of Infectious Disease Centre, Princess Margaret Hospital, Hospital Authority (醫院管理局瑪嘉烈醫院傳染病中心). Since then, Dr. Lau, on behalf of the Foundation, has been providing weekly voluntary psychiatric consultation to people living with HIV at the Special Medical Clinic of Princess Margaret Hospital, taking care of their mental health.
Frontiers in HIV /AIDS Prevention and Treatment Conference 2017
First up, HIV and AIDS are not the same thing. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It is a virus passed on through body fluids like semen, blood and vaginal fluids. HIV can damage your immune system, and there is no vaccine or cure but it can be treated. When it is untreated, it can develop into AIDS which stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
You can’t get HIV by kissing or hugging. Mosquitoes don’t pass on HIV. You can’t get it by shaking hands or by sharing cutlery or cups, or by eating food made by someone with HIV. However, HIV can be passed on through blood, semen, vaginal fluids and breast milk of an infected person. That means you can catch HIV during vaginal or anal sex and by sharing needles. Also, an infected mother can pass on the virus during pregnancy, childbirth or breast-feeding.
If you want to know more about prevention and treatment of HIV and AIDS, don’t miss the conference “Frontiers in HIV and AIDS Prevention and Treatment “ organized by CHOICE and
collaborated by MHF.