China

More than 200 workers gather at an
awareness activity on an Olympic c
onstruction site in Beijing. AIDS-related
pamphlets, posters, playing cards and
condoms were distributed and workers were
able to find out information about HIV and
how to protect themselves and others,
September 2006. Credit: UNAIDS

A range of initiatives by UNAIDS in China in partnership with the Chinese Government and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in the run-up to the 2008 Games illustrate how sport can break down barriers, fight discrimination and make a difference in the AIDS response.

China’s Olympic effort to raise AIDS awareness

Long before the athletes from all over the world gathered to share dreams at the Olympic Games, tens of thousands of builders have been working hard on construction sites around Beijing to prepare for the event. Many of the people working on sites such as the famous Olympic Stadium, the Bird’s Nest are migrant workers.

Migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to HIV as they are often far away from their families for prolonged periods of time.

In a bid to address the needs of migrant workers in the run up to the Olympics, the Chinese AIDS/STD Prevention and Control Foundation and the Beijing Health Bureau, in conjunction with UNAIDS, rolled out an AIDS awareness campaign at more than 20 Olympic sites over a six month period prior to the games.

Planting trees for AIDS in China

UNAIDS Special Representative Her Royal
Highness Princess Mathilde of Belgium
joined the symbolic tree planting event led
by organizations of people living with HIV
in China, 27 June 2007 Credit: UNAIDS

Many people living with HIV actively participated in Beijing’s preparation to host the Olympics Games. They have put a human face to the AIDS epidemic and helped reduce discrimination and stigma.

The Beijing Health Bureau in collaboration with local HIV advocacy groups ran a year long project where trees were planted and watered and small plates with names were tied to the trees. This initiative can trace its history back to 2006 when a group of people living with HIV decided to get more involved in public events and reduce AIDS-related stigma and discrimination.

UNAIDS and UNICEF Special Representative Her Royal Highness Princess Mathilde of Belgium joined one such tree planting event in 2007. Her Highness said: “You are showing us the way, working together to make Beijing greener for the well-being of all.”

Carrying the Olympic flame for people living with HIV in Tanzania

Beyond China, Dhamiri Mustapha, a young Tanzanian woman living with HIV was one of the 80 dignitaries who carried the Olympic flame during the five-kilometre torch relay in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, in April this year.

The twenty-three-year old woman showed extraordinary courage by taking part in this high-profile event in her own country. She spoke openly about the importance of condom use and urged young people to protect themselves.

In a joint message, IOC President Jacques Rogge and Dr Peter Piot Executive Director of UNAIDS, underlined how sport can break down barriers, fight discrimination and make a difference in the AIDS response. "Sport offers a perfect platform to make young people aware of the issue, to promote preventive messages, and to ensure that people living with HIV are not discriminated against. Discrimination towards a country, or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender, or otherwise, is incompatible with the principles of the Olympic Movement.”

Olympics 2008: AIDS awareness training for young volunteers in China

Fun and games during HIV training at
Beijing Modern Vocational and Technical
College, June 2008. Credit: UNAIDS

Games have begun and as Ambassadors of the host city, young Olympic volunteers are welcoming international guests to Beijing.

As part of their preparation for the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games, around 7,500 volunteers at 13 universities have learned knowledge and skills on HIV prevention and how to counter discrimination through games, presentations, quizzes and interactive question and answer sessions. In parallel, 100, 000 volunteers received a basic information package on HIV before the Games.

People living with HIV participated in the training session as trainers. Their presence helped to eliminate false ideas and preconceptions about people living with HIV.

The Olympic volunteer training programme was convened by UNAIDS and United Nations Volunteers (UNV) and implemented in collaboration with the United Nations system in China, Beijing Youth League, Red Cross Society of China and Marie Stopes International (MSI) China.

The role of sport

UNAIDS and the International Olympic Committee have been working closely together since 2004 when they signed a Memorandum of Understanding in which both organizations agreed to combine their efforts to raise awareness about HIV.

During his official visit to China, the UN
Secretary General and his wife Madame
Yoo Soon-taek paid a visit to Ditan hospital
in Beijing. Photo: UNAIDS

During his official visit to China, the UN Secretary General and his wife Madame Yoo Soon-taek paid a visit to Ditan hospital in Beijing on 2 July to discuss a range of issues with people living with HIV and meet the staff and volunteers who work at the hospital.

The Beijing Ditan hospital, established in 1946, specializes in infectious diseases and is one of China’s leading institutions providing treatment and care for people living with HIV. Affiliated with the hospital is the Red Ribbon Centre which compliments the hospital’s work by providing care and psychological support to people living with HIV.

The centre provides a number of services including information, HIV testing and counselling, as well as training for volunteers and a legal aid system to advise people living with HIV. It is a place where HIV positive people can network, and above all, be themselves without fear of stigma.

During his visit the Secretary General said that HIV remained at the top of his agenda and praised the work of the volunteers at the Red Ribbon Centre. In his conversations with those living with HIV he was keen to discuss how stigma and discrimination impacts their lives, an issue he covered in his recent remarks at General Assembly High-level Meeting on AIDS New York on 10 June 2008.

A mother, who gave birth three weeks ago and who is HIV positive was one of the people with whom the Secretary General met. They discussed how testing positive for HIV had influenced her life, her current health status and the treatment she and her baby receive in Ditan hospital.

The Secretary General and Madame Yoo Soon-taek were accompanied on the visit by officials representing the UN in China.

Fun and games during HIV training at
Beijing Modern Vocational and Technical
College. Photo credit: UNAIDS

It is early Sunday morning but the auditorium at Beijing Modern Vocational and Technical College is already full. Several hundred Olympic volunteers are chatting; waiting for the day’s training to start. The local representative of Beijing Youth League opens the workshop energetically with a clapping exercise. This course is very different to what students normally experience at this academic institution. Laughing and playing along the way, the students are learning about AIDS through a variety of games, presentations, quizzes and interactive question and answer sessions.

Countering discrimination

At the closing session, trainer Yu Xuan takes centre stage and asks the students what they think the probability is of them meeting a person living with HIV. The students say that they think that the probability of this is very low. “Well, you are in luck today,” Yu Xuan says. “I am HIV positive!” Most have never met an HIV positive person before and find it hard to believe that this young, handsome and energetic trainer is HIV positive. Immediately they recognize that they had false ideas and preconceptions about people living with HIV.

“When I was tested as HIV positive, I thought my life would end very soon. With the help and referral by local health services, I participated in activities organized by local HIV volunteers where I learned more about HIV, and got to know new friends,” Yu Xuan tells the volunteers. “I became aware that I could help others by sharing my knowledge, dispelling the myths about HIV, and communicate with the public as an HIV positive speaker.”

HIV is a reality rather than a distant possibility

The facilitator living with HIV, who are part of the team training Olympic volunteers, has been trained though a project called “Positive Talks”. This project is implemented by Marie Stopes International and supported by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The contribution of people living with HIV in China’s HIV prevention efforts is extremely valuable as they put a human face to the AIDS epidemic, which helps to reduce the discriminatory attitudes towards people living with HIV. They reinforce HIV prevention messages and make an impact on audiences by presenting HIV as a reality rather than a distant possibility.

“Many young people do not have the right information on AIDS, fuelling false fears, stigma and discrimination. This is bad in itself, but also hampers HIV prevention work,” said Bernhard Schwartländer, the UNAIDS Country Coordinator in China.

“Engaging some of China’s most capable young people and making them the messengers of positive and correct knowledge on HIV can help dispel inaccurate myths and break down the stigma and discrimination against people affected by HIV,” he said.

7,500 volunteers trained at 13 different universities

UNAIDS staff at the Beijing Modern
Vocational and Technical College training
young Olympic Volunteers.
Photo credit: UNAIDS

The training course is part of the volunteers’ preparation for service during the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games. Around 7,500 volunteers will have participated in the course in 13 different universities, while 100,000 volunteers will receive a basic information package on HIV. The training is a unique opportunity to equip Chinese youth with important knowledge and skills on HIV prevention and how to counter discrimination.

“We hope that through this training, Olympics volunteers, as ambassadors for Beijing citizens, will be better prepared to inclusively welcome all groups of people to Beijing during the Games, especially those living with HIV. It is our hope that Olympic volunteers will share this knowledge and look for opportunities to continue volunteering on important health and development issues such as raising awareness of HIV,” said UNDP Country Director Subinay Nandy.

Joint UN effort

The Olympic volunteer training programme is being convened by UNAIDS and United Nations Volunteers (UNV) and implemented in collaboration with the United Nations system in China, Beijing Youth League, Red Cross Society of China, Marie Stopes International (MSI) China.

The training teams include HIV experts from eight UN agencies: ILO, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNAIDS, UNODC, WHO and UNIFEM. The project, co-funded by UNAIDS, UNDP and UNV, is one of several initiatives between UNDP, UNV, the Beijing Youth League and other local partners within a partnership project aimed at strengthening volunteerism for development in China through the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Chinese toolkit for HIV prevention launched in Beijing

Jointly developed by the IOC and UNAIDS,
this practical guide was put together to
reach millions of people involved in sports
in China and the region.

With the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games less than a year away, sporting fever is gripping China and the surrounding countries. And as athletes prepare to run, jump, kick and throw themselves onto the winners podium, HIV prevention is also emerging as an Olympic champion.

Sport and its impact, role and opportunity for HIV prevention is becoming a central theme to activities across China. In September a special workshop on HIV prevention through took place in Beijing, gathering fifty representatives from ten Asian countries to discuss how sporting organizations can become involved in HIV prevention and work to dispel stigma.

Organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), in cooperation with the Chinese Olympic Committee, UNAIDS, the Health Bureau of Beijing, the Chinese Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, this was the second workshop of its kind and also saw the launch of the Chinese version of the first Toolkit for HIV prevention for the sports community.

Jointly developed by the IOC and UNAIDS, this practical guide was put together to reach millions of people involved in sports in China and the region to help them engage in AIDS-related activities and programmes. The English version, launched in 2005, has already been widely distributed and used by the English speaking sporting community.

“Millions of sports fans take part or watch sport every week in this region. Sport stimulates passion and has the capacity to unite whole nations. It is also a powerful force for change and information sharing on issues such as HIV,” said Andy Seale, Chief of Civil Society Partnerships at UNAIDS who attended the workshop and launch on behalf of UNAIDS Executive Director, Dr Peter Piot.

“The energy and excitement building globally around next year’s Olympic Games here in Beijing is palpable. It is fitting that we channel some of that energy into [HIV prevention],” he added.

“The energy and excitement building globally around next year’s Olympic Games here in Beijing is palpable; if we can direct the same energy towards HIV prevention this is a prime opportunity to move forward and reach out to people from all sectors,” added.

The opening ceremony of the HIV prevention and
sport workshop. L-R: Dr. Xaio Donglou, Deputy
Director General, Bureau of Disease Control,
Ministry of Health, Mr. Cai Zhenhua, Vice President
of the Chinese Olympic Committee and Vice-
Minister of Sport, Katia Mascagni, IOC Head of
International Organisations' Relations and
Cooperation, Ms. Han Lu, Executive Vice
President of Red Cross Society of China and Andy
Seale, Chief, Civil Society and Partnerships,
UNAIDS.

Delegates at the event reiterated the need to capitalize on the Beijing Games and other sporting events as opportunities for HIV prevention work and information campaigns. The participants also agreed to distribute and make use of the toolkit in educating athletes, coaches, officials and administrators, and adapt it to the local context, reach out to famous athletes as ambassadors and supporters for their activities and involve people living with HIV in their work.

At the end of the workshop, delegates called on the main stakeholders from the sport and health sectors to set up a task force building on existing partnerships. They also called for further action on developing an AIDS policy for each relevant organization, while ensuring that the progress and results were monitored and disseminated.

A message from IOC President Jacques Rogge underlined how sport can break down barriers, fight discrimination and make a difference in the AIDS response.

“Because the prevention of and fight against discrimination are the two fields in which sport can clearly make a difference, and because sport breaks down barriers, builds self-esteem and can teach life skills and healthy behaviour, the sports movement has decided to join the world campaign against AIDS," said Mr Rogge.

“More than ever, sport can be a catalyst in our society to improve quality of life and human well-being,” he added.

Finding innovative solutions to key health challenges to ensure the long-term economic development of nations worldwide was the focus for business leaders attending the three-day meeting of New Champions. The meeting took place in Dalian in the People’s Republic of China from 6 to 8 September 2007.

The issue of AIDS took a particularly prominent position with a symposium dedicated to how business could contribute to responding to the epidemic. The symposium gathered high-level representatives from government, business, NGOs and international organizations—including UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot—to discuss the issue of AIDS in the workplace.

Christine Ockrent, author and Editor-in-Chief of the French television channel France 3,introduced the discussion noting how big business had been slow to realize the staggering impactl of the AIDS pandemic. “AIDS, she said, has become the fourth cause of death in the world and may soon be the third. Eight thousand people die each day from AIDS,” she added.

What role can new business champions play?

As part of his intervention, the UNAIDS Executive Director presented three comparative advantages of the business sector in addressing the epidemic. First of all, he underlined, business has expertise in long-term strategic planning, risk assessment, research, development and marketing. Private companies can also, reach out to millions of people, who would otherwise be out of reach, through HIV in the workplace programmes and workplace programmes also allow proper follow of the beneficiaries. Additionally, he stressed, the business sector has an outreach potential far beyond its own sector and plays a real leadership role in today’s world.

Other speakers at the symposium included Bo Shao, Chairman, Novamed Pharmaceuticals in the People's Republic of China; Raenette Taljaard, Executive Director of Helen Suzman Foundation in South Africa; Sir Martin Sorrell, Group Chief Executive of WPP Plc in the United Kingdom; and Rajat Gupta, Senior Partner of McKinsey & Co. and Chairman of the Board of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Mr Gupta noted that the case for business was grounded in completely enlightened self-interest. "We need a healthy workforce,” he said.

WPP’s Sir Martin Sorrell added that HIV must be recognized as one of the world’s two global priorities, along with climate change. He cited ignorance and discrimination as major obstacles in the response to AIDS. “Obstacles, he noted, that can be overcome through better education and where New Champions can contribute by using existing services and by inventing new service delivery tools.

”While the business sector offers some examples of innovative partnerships in response to AIDS, most of them are to be found in large multinational companies. Adidas for example has partnered with Marie Stopes International to provide reproductive health and AIDS prevention education to the young, female migrant workers in their supplier factories. But many more such initiatives are needed across the sector.

“Business has a vital role to play in the response to AIDS.  The multi-sectoral nature of AIDS presents enormous opportunities for further contributions from business, in its resources, expertise and long-term planning,” said Regina Castillo, UNAIDS' Team Leader of Corporate and Private Sector Partnerships.

UNAIDS acknowledged good progress that has been made in China’s response to AIDS, presenting special awards to China’s Vice Minister of Health, Dr Wang Longde and Professor Zhang Beichuan from Qingdao University, for their leadership on AIDS issues.

UNAIDS today acknowledged good progress that has been made in China’s response to AIDS, presenting special awards to China’s Vice Minister of Health, Dr Wang Longde and Professor Zhang Beichuan from Qingdao University, for their leadership on AIDS issues.

At an awards ceremony held Beijing, UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot congratulated Dr Longde and Professor Beichuan for their dedication and commitment to helping China get ahead of its AIDS epidemic and establish a sustainable, multi-sectoral response.

“ As I visit countries around the world, I witness time and again that strong and committed leadership brings progress in the AIDS response,” he said.

“ Today I am honored to present awards to two true pioneers, who have been at the forefront of the AIDS response in the country and who have encouraged others to follow,” he added.

“ This kind of enlightened leadership on AIDS is critical to getting ahead of the epidemic and keeping the challenges AIDS presents high in the minds of policy makers and the general public,” said Dr Piot.

Dr Wang Longde has been China’s Vice Minister of Health since 1995. He completed his graduate study at China Academy of Medical Sciences before holding the position Health Bureau Director in the Gansu Province. Dr Wang Longde has been instrumental in making a response to AIDS a priority for China. He has placed particular emphasis on ensuring a multisetoral approach to AIDS and encouraging a range of partners to join China’s response.

Professor Zhang Beichuan addresses government
officials, UN and NGO representatives, people
living with HIV and the press after receiving a
UNAIDS award from UNAIDS Executive Director,
Dr. Peter Piot.

Professor Zhang Beichuan from Qingdao University and a member of National AIDS Expert Committee, has undertaken ground-breaking work in raising HIV awareness among men who have sex with men, breaking down stigma and discrimination against people at high risk of HIV infection and developing focused HIV prevention programmes. Professor Beichuan has been working on AIDS issues since the mid-1980s when he started sexual education programming. In the early 1990s he started research on homosexuality, publishing his first paper in 1994, where he also dealt with AIDS among men who have sex with men as an issue. Professor Beichuan implemented one of the earliest large-scale HIV interventions among men who have sex with men in China.

The UNAIDS award ceremony took place as part of a week-long country visit to China by the UNAIDS Executive Director, to learn more about how the country is intensifying and moving forwards its response to AIDS. The mission travelled through Henan, one of the provinces most affected by AIDS – visiting Shangcai county and the provincial capital Zhengzhou. Following the Henan mission, Dr Piot travelled on to the Chinese capital Beijing.

During the week long trip, the UNAIDS Executive Director is highlighting a number of key issues such as the need for continued and sustained commitment and leadership on AIDS, the need for focused HIV prevention programmes to reach the people most at risk and the continued need to reduce AIDS-related stigma and discrimination in China.

L to R: Professor Zhang Beichuan, Vice Minister of
Health Dr. Wang Longde, UNAIDS Executive
Director Dr Peter Piot, UNAIDS Country Coordinator
Joel Rehnstrom

“I am confident that China can continue scaling up its response to AIDS, focusing programmes to reach the people that need them most, involving people living with HIV and “making the money work” – ensuring the funding available for AIDS is used most effectively and efficiently. It is still early to tell, but China might just be turning the corner on AIDS”, said Dr Piot.

UNAIDS has been supporting efforts to curb the AIDS epidemic in China for over ten years. As part of the mission, Dr Piot will also discuss United Nations continued support to China and promote the new ‘UN Joint Programme on AIDS’ that has been developed in the country. The new programme includes a clear division of labour between UN agencies working on AIDS and aims at ensuring that the United Nations ‘delivers as one’ on AIDS.

“As China’s response develops, so does the UN response within the country. Increased coordination will enable us all to be more effective. We look forward to supporting China in its response to AIDS and working together with China in expanding the global response to AIDS, particularly in Africa”, the UNAIDS Executive Director said.

UNAIDS Executive Director, Dr Peter Piot reviews
the flow chart for diagnosis of HIV in the health
clinic of Nandawu village in Shangcai county in
Henan province together with health clinic staff.

Leadership, commitment and ensuring the involvement of a wide range of partners in the AIDS response– including people living with HIV –have been underlined as critical to progress on AIDS in China, during a week-long UNAIDS mission to the country (15 – 20 July).

Heading the mission, UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot stressed the need for all those working on AIDS to be fully involved in the development and implementation of the China’s response. He also highlighted the need for focused HIV prevention programmes to reach the people most at risk and the continued need to reduce AIDS-related stigma and discrimination in the country.

The mission travelled through Henan, one of the provinces most affected by AIDS – visiting Shangcai county and the provincial capital Zhengzhou. According to Chinese government estimates, some 66,000 people are thought to be living with HIV in the province.

Key discussions with provincial leaders and visits to a health clinic, a primary school, a centre for AIDS orphans and two households of people living with HIV gave insight into progresses being made and ongoing challenges faced.

Henan has a comprehensive HIV prevention, treatment, care and support system with over $100 million invested by the provincial government over the last 4 years. Free antiretroviral treatment and treatment for opportunistic infections is available in hundreds of villages and towns across the province. During the mission, healthcare workers in the province stressed the importance of ensuring second line treatment is made available and addressing the potential reality of emergence of drug resistance. They also underlined the need for expanded availability of opportunistic infection treatment.

“There are 129 free drugs for treatment of opportunistic infections. But we still hope that some more drugs, such as drugs for hypertension treatment will become free of charge,” a member of the staff told UNAIDS at the health clinic in Nanawu village.

Despite increased attention to AIDS in the province, the involvement of non-governmental, community based organizations and people living with HIV within the response has been rather limited. Addressing this issue, the UNAIDS Executive Director held special discussions with a group of civil society representatives – including representatives of media, non-governmental organizations and people living with HIV to explore ways of strengthening their active involvement in the response to AIDS in Henan. Coordinated action and the issue of stigma and discrimination were high on the agenda, with participants underlining that some progress has been seen on reducing AIDS-related discrimination but that more was needed to ensure civil society and people living with HIV can have the opportunity and space to be active within the response. “There is still a definite need for improvement,” said one non-governmental organization representative.

UNAIDS Executive Director, Dr Peter Piot observes
a boy using a computer at the Red Ribbon Care
Centre for AIDS orphans of Nandawu village in
Shangcai county, Henan province. Local staff and
Dr. Ma Jiangzhou, Director of the Henan Province
Health Bureau are also present.

Visiting households of people living with HIV, Dr Piot emphasized the critical role individuals have to play in ensuring an effective response to AIDS. “People living with HIV should be at the very centre of the response. Your voices must be heard,” he said, urging them to participate in HIV prevention and anti-discrimination campaign s and reach out to others in the community.

Young people, their role in the response and the need to raise their awareness on AIDS issues was also highlighted through discussions at the Nandawu Village primary school and the Red Ribbon Care Center for AIDS Orphans.

Joining the children in the Red Ribbon Centre in their daily sporting activities, Dr Piot stressed the critical role of the school system in increasing AIDS prevention, anti-discrimination and life skills education as well as vocational training. He also called for provincial and educational leaders to give more attention to children and young people on AIDS, as they are among the most vulnerable to HIV infection.

Following the Henan mission, Dr Piot travelled on to the Chinese capital Beijing. Over the next days he will meet with Chinese government officials and hold talks with Chinese AIDS experts and activists.

UNAIDS and UNICEF Special Representative Her
Royal Highness Princess Mathilde of Belgium
joined the symbolic tree planting event led by
organisations of people living with HIV in China.

Two issues of global importance, AIDS and the environment, were highlighted during a symbolic tree planting event led by organisations of people living with HIV in China.

The event, organized by the Beijing Health Bureau in collaboration with local HIV advocacy groups, the Mangrove Support Group and Ark of Love organization, forms part of a year-long initiative to greater involve people living with HIV in important public events, highlighting their contribution to Chinese society and in particular to the city of Beijing prior to its hosting of the 2008 Olympic Games.

"With more publicity about AIDS, more and more people living with HIV are facing up to the reality and taking active steps to have a fulfilling life in society," said Meng Lin, the founder of the "Ark of Love" organization.

Under the title “ Olympics with you and me", Mangrove Support Group first started the tree planting project in 2006 by leasing the land near the Olympic construction site and arranging a number of trips to this area for people living with HIV and various organizations involved in the AIDS response. During these events, trees are planted and watered and small personal name plates are tied to the trees.

The project activities not only provide an opportunity for people living with HIV to help make Beijing greener but also aim to reduce AIDS-related stigma and discrimination.

UNAIDS and UNICEF Special Representatives HRH Princess Mathilde of Belgium and Serge Dumont, Senior Vice President of the Omnicom Group also joined the awareness raising initiative.

Her Royal Highness Princess Mathilde of Belgium
talks with Ms. Guan Baoying, Deputy Director,
Disease Control Division, Beijing Health Bureau
(middle) and a member of a local HIV advocacy
group during the tree planting event .

In her speech at the event, Her Royal Highness Princess Mathilde stressed the importance of acceptance and inclusion of people living with HIV in Chinese society. “The universal values of the Olympic spirit -- Unity, Friendship, Progress, Harmony, Participation and Dream—are the very values that should guide us in all our contacts with others, whatever their age, sex, ethnic origin or HIV-status,” she said.

Applauding the tree-planting initiative, Her Royal Highness Princess Mathilde underlined: “You are showing us the way, working together to make Beijing greener for the well-being of all.”

Also participating in the event were Ms. Jiang Yiman, Executive Vice President of China Red Cross, Ms. Deng Yaping, Red Cross Goodwill Ambassador, table tennis player and winner of six world championships and four Olympic gold medals, as well as Dr. Mukesh Kapila, Special Representative on HIV of International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and leaders from the United Nations, Ministry of Health, the Chinese Olympic Committee and the Global Business Coalition on AIDS, TB and Malaria.

In China an e stimated 650,000 people are living with HIV. Approximately 30,000 people living with HIV currently receive anti-retroviral treatment.

China is a country of expanding wealth, deep-rooted tradition, and honour, and is home to some of the world’s most famous landmarks. It is also a country which over the past few years has become increasingly affected by the AIDS epidemic.

In 2005 UNAIDS estimated that there were close to 650,000 people living with HIV in China, a country which has many factors that could lead to a rapid spread of the epidemic; high mobility, large-scale labour migration, high numbers of sex workers, low condom use, a large number of people who inject drugs, low overall awareness of AIDS as well as severe stigma and discrimination surrounding HIV.

“The Chinese government has increased the resources allocated to the response to AIDS in China significantly over the last four years,” said Joel Rehnstrom, UNAIDS’ Country Coordinator in China. “However, at the provincial level a lot still needs to be done. AIDS awareness is still much too low in the population and stigma and discrimination are serious problems that need to be dealt with,” he added.

The Beijing Ditan hospital, established in 1946,was
one of the first hospitals to support people living
with HIV in China and began providing antiretroviral
treatment in 1999.

The Beijing Ditan hospital, established in 1946, was one of the first hospitals to support people living with HIV in China and began providing antiretroviral treatment in 1999. This was also the year that the Red Ribbon Centre was established, to compliment the hospital’s work by providing care and support to people living with HIV.

“Ditan is a hospital specialized in infectious diseases and is one of China’s leading institutions on AIDS––so we have a duty to provide the best treatment and support we can,” said the General Secretary of the Red Ribbon Centre, Dr. Li Xingwang. “However there is still more we can do to improve HIV awareness in China and we call on medical professionals to join us in the response to AIDS. Starting with ourselves, we can work on eliminating the stigma around HIV in the medical community,” he added.

The Beijing Ditan hospital mainly receives patients from the Beijing municipality, however people from other provinces also come to the hospital to receive treatment. Many come because they have been refused entry into other hospitals or fear of disclosing their status in their local communities. The Red Ribbon Centre supports this policy and maintains an open door policy by welcoming anyone living with HIV seeking advice or support.

The Red Ribbon Centre is supported by the government and international organizations including UNAIDS. UNAIDS is also working with other partners in the country to engage positive networks and their members to help build capacity and raise awareness of the epidemic in China .

The Red Ribbon Centre is a place where people
living with HIV can communicate, network, and
above all, be themselves without fear of stigma or
discrimination.

The centre provides a number of services including information, HIV testing and care, as well as psychological support training for volunteers and a legal aid system to support people living with HIV. It is a place where people living with HIV can communicate, network, and above all, be themselves without fear of stigma or discrimination.

“The Red Ribbon Centre provides a friendly and harmonious environment for us. We can talk openly here. We get up to date information and professional support and care––this is our family,” said one of the centre’s members.

The Red Ribbon Centre also engages in educating the general population through a journal called ‘Hand in Hand’ developed in collaboration with people living with HIV. The journal places particular emphasis on raising awareness among young people.

“It is important that we educate young people in China, which is why we have provided training to more than 600 university students and hosted 13 health education activities in primary and middle schools,” said Dr. Li Xingwang.

China has made significant progress in scaling up its action on AIDS––increasing harm reduction programmes and providing treatment, care and support to people living with HIV. But there is still much to be done, particularly in the provinces. The Ditan hospital and the Red Ribbon Centre are important examples of what can be achieved and their treatment, support and education programmes are important initiatives in the country’s response to AIDS.

In 2008, top athletes from around the world will gather in China to attempt to run, jump, swim and pole-vault themselves into the records book at the XXIX Olympic Games. And as China warms up to host the games, building of stadiums and amenities across the country, a parallel initiative is taking place to raise awareness about HIV among the thousands of construction workers involved in preparing Beijing for the Olympics.

More than 200 workers gathered at one such awareness raising activity held recently at a construction site in Beijing. Through exhibitions and the distribution of AIDS-related pamphlets, posters, playing cards and condoms, workers were able to find out information about HIV and how to protect themselves and others. A special question and answer session, informative entertainment and other awareness raising activities were conducted.

Organized by the China AIDS/STD Prevention and Control Foundation and the Beijing Health Bureau, the event involved special presentations by UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot, the Beijing Construction Commission, a worker on one of the sites and the China AIDS Prevention Foundation.

“Targeting workers involved in the construction of Olympic venues as well as workers at the many other building sites all over China is an extremely important and big task. Migrant workers are often particularly vulnerable and at risk as they are away from their families for very long periods of time and can lack the information and skills necessary to protect themselves from HIV,” said Mr. Joel Rehnstrom, UNAIDS Country Coordinator in China.

The initiative for raising awareness among migrant workers was launched in 2005 by the State Council AIDS Working Committee office together with 12 government ministries. The initiative is being rolled out over 20 Olympic sites over the next six months. With many construction workers coming from different parts of China specifically to build the facilities, the events aim to reach out to as many people as possible from a wide variety of communities and backgrounds and to highlight sport as a key arena for promoting HIV prevention activities, particularly among young people.

In 2004, UNAIDS signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Olympics Committee, combining efforts to enhance the role of sports organisations in the fight against AIDS at community and national levels, and to organize AIDS awareness activities with coaches, athletes and sports personalities.

Photo credit: UNAIDS/Li Mingfang

Related links
UNAIDS Executive Director visits China 7-12 September
UNAIDS China website