Focus on

China

Over many years, China and UNAIDS have worked closely together to reduce the impact of the HIV epidemic in China by widening access to treatment and prevention options to people living with or affected by HIV, and especially to groups of people disproportionately affected by the virus.

China’s industrial power and its expertise in the fields of science, medicine and technology also give the country a significant role in the international response to the epidemic. UNAIDS supports stronger Africa–China health cooperation and participates in international meetings such as the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation, China–Africa health round tables, China–Africa health ministerial meetings and BRICS health minister meetings.

UNAIDS also supports initiatives to increase Chinese private sector engagement in the AIDS response in Africa, for example by encouraging private sector investment in the local production of pharmaceuticals.

Visit the China country page for more related resources.

China marks International AIDS Candlelight Memorial Day

The International AIDS Candlelight Memorial, coordinated by the Global Network of People Living with HIV, is one of the world’s oldest and largest grassroots mobilization campaigns for HIV awareness in the world. In May, the UNAIDS country office in China invited members of community-based organizations to lead a commemorative event to mark the 36th International AIDS Candlelight Memorial at the United Nations headquarters in Beijing.

Organized by the Man Wellness Center and Beijing Love Without Border Foundation under the theme of "Ignite Hope, Blessing for Love,” the event brought together community members, activists, young people, healthcare providers, private sector representatives and other people working in the response. They remembered those lost to AIDS-related illnesses and re-committed their efforts to end the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030.

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Stepping up for China’s AIDS response

Zhou Kai has worked in the UNAIDS China office for almost 13 years and has been involved in the AIDS response for more than 16 years. Before this, she was a university lecturer and researcher in paediatric and adolescent health for ten years.

Ms. Zhou’s experience demonstrates how China’s AIDS response has evolved over time. She first worked as a clinical researcher at the China Integrated Programme on AIDS before joining UNAIDS in 2006 to manage the coordination of the nine co-sponsor agencies that are behind UNAIDS in China.

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A bond of intimacy, free from HIV

“I thought I could never be happy again,” said Mei Zi, who is living with HIV and a mother of a lively young boy. She calls her son “calm angel”, as he doesn’t talk much. Mei Zi says that “calm angel” as a gift from God.

Mei Zi met her husband two years after she discovered that she was living with HIV. After their wedding, she went to live with her husband in Beijing, China, where he worked. She remembers receiving a red down jacket as a present from her husband when she got off the train in Beijing. The excitement is still fresh, even though it was a long time ago.

Soon after her marriage, Mei Zi became pregnant. Although her doctor advised her that she could take medicine to ensure that her baby was born free from HIV, she made the painful decision to terminate the pregnancy. She and her husband were both living with HIV and, in addition, she was living with hepatitis C.

Mei Zi put having children out of her mind, but five years later a test showed that she was pregnant.

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