AIDS Prevention Deepened

The Chinese Government is changing the way of AIDS control by approaching high risk groups: gays, prostitutes and drug addicts

By FENG JIANHUA

GAY CLINIC INITIATOR: Many gay people know so little about venereal diseases and the fear of AIDS most comes from ignorance, says Xiao Dong, head of a gay volunteer organization

Thirty-year-old Xiao Dong recently drew much public attention after the opening of a health clinic for gays-the first of its kind in the country. It provides free AIDS checkups and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) for one year.

The clinic is funded by governmental health institutions but is run by a civil organization headed by Xiao Dong, who is also a gay.

A survey by the Ministry of Health showed that there is a gay population of around 5-10 million, most of whom remain “hidden in the closet”.

“The number of gays infected with HIV has been increasing, among whom those aged between 16 and 30 are most at risk of AIDS infection,” said Zheng Yuhuang, an AIDS prevention and treatment expert with a hospital under the Central South University in Hunan Province.

The situation in China is that many gays with STDs (including AIDS) turn to private clinics instead of regular hospitals due to their special identity.

“Our clinic, however, has gay doctors and volunteers helping patients overcome the mental block,” noted Xiao Dong. He said the clinic guarantees an efficient, low-priced and sustainable medical service for gay group. Besides the one-year free health checks, it also provides all kinds of services such as psychological counseling and emotional support.

According to Xiao Dong, the first batch of gay clinics are planned to be established in three community hospitals and further be promoted more widely when such a mode matures. If a gay is diagnosed with HIV, he will be transferred to the free AIDS treatment project managed by the government. To protect privacy, the doctors basically will not be given details of the patient’s identity.

Xiao Dong’s participation in AIDS prevention for gay people has much to do with Shi Wei, Director of the Chaoyang District Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The two first got to know each other through a gay chat room in February 2005.

Gay chat rooms usually are not accessed by non-gays. But that day Shi Wei, who is straight, had gained Xiao Dong’s trust by his goodwill and enthusiasm to help gay people to protect themselves. Shi had long been trying to set up a gay volunteer organization but made little progress as he was not part of the gay community.

Six days later the two had a face-to-face meeting and finally decided to work together.

On May 18, 2005, Xiao Dong organized a Chaoyang Chinese AIDS Volunteer Group thanks to his popularity among the gay community. The group has seven key members, among them being professors, doctors and media personnel, with the youngest being 26 and the oldest 53. The same day, they also launched their website, www.hivolunt.net, the first website in China dedicated to AIDS prevention and treatment for gay people.

According to Xiao Dong, the group now has 2,700 members across the nation. Their main work is to deliver materials on AIDS prevention and treatment in bars and parks where gays often gather. Other activities like lectures and parties are held to boost awareness of AIDS prevention and their faith in staying alive.

The organization has won trust of the gay community, and the government has begun to contact it for cooperation. The opening of China’s first gay clinic is a joint victory of the organization and government: the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention and its branch in the Chaoyang District.

Faced with a serious AIDS situation, local governments or institutions have begun exploring bolder approaches. In August, the Chaoyang District Center for Disease Control and Prevention opened a gay forum on its website, the first of its kind with official support.

Fu Qingyuan, the website’s manager, noted that the forum is a platform for gay groups and health institutions to communicate with each other, in an effort to better control the high risk of AIDS expansion among the gay community.

Though the civil organizations seem to work better than the government health sectors, they do have their problems. In Xiao Dong’s case, for example, he is basically satisfied with his work but the shortage of funds is a big headache.

Chaoyang Chinese AIDS Volunteer Group so far hasn’t gotten any social donations and its only income comes from selling advertising space on its website. But the website ads generate a mere profit of 20,000 yuan each year, half of what it needs to spend. Under such circumstances, volunteers work without any payment, sometimes even paying their own transportation costs.

“If only we could have a little bit more money, we would launch more efficient activities and get more people to join us,” noted Xiao Dong.

China is a country where AIDS spreads very fast. According to the estimate by the Joint United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS and the World Health Organization, the mainland has 650,000 people who are infected with AIDS but only 140,000 have been tested. That’s to say, still 80 percent of the potential infectors remain in the dark.

The 80 percent are mostly among high risk groups like gays, prostitutes and drug addicts. To control the AIDS spread among them is really a challenge to the government. In recent years, it has begun positively intervening in the issue, such as on special occasions providing clean needles for drug users and launching experimental units of drug-substitute treatment.

This October, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, held a special class to educate prostitutes on AIDS prevention and condom use. As prostitution is something that needs to be cracked down on, such an activity naturally aroused some opposition. But according to Zhang Konglai, Vice Director of the China VD and HIV/AIDS Control Association, the class had great symbolic meaning as a harbinger of the “coming spring in China’s AIDS prevention work.”

Nanjing, meanwhile, has included AIDS infectors in the healthcare security system, the first time ever in China. This is in sharp contrast with the past, when AIDS was considered a “filthy” disease and its sufferers were ashamed to go to regular hospitals for treatment. Thus,social tolerance towards AIDS is increasing.