On March 21, we announced that Asia Catalyst’s board of directors has generously agreed to match all donations for our
“New Generation of Leaders” campaign in 2012 up to a total of $8,000 dollars. This means that donations of $100 are worth $200, and a $500 gift is worth $1,000. Anyone who makes donations of $100 or more receives a gift book featuring photos and narratives about our Chinese partner organizations, as well as a foreword by civil society expert Shawn Shieh (China Development Brief). Funds raised go to our campaign to bring Chinese activists to the International AIDS Conference in Washington D.C. and to make our work more sustainable. To give, please go here.
[EVENT] Launching Our “New Generation of Leaders” 5th Anniversary Campaign
On the evening of March 21, Asia Catalyst celebrated the official launch of its 5th Anniversary “New Generation of Leaders” Campaign with a cocktail and dim sum reception, hosted by board member Minky Worden. Asia Catalyst honored the immense contributions of Professor Jerome Cohen, board member emeritus and a leading scholar on Chinese law. His former students and colleagues contributed to a photo book, which Margaret Lewis, a former student and current associate professor of law at Seton Hall University, presented to him at the event. The evening also featured a discussion between Mike Frick, China program officer, and Shen Tingting, deputy director of Dongjen Human Rights Education and Action Center. Tingting shared her experiences in HIV/AIDS activism–both the numerous accomplishments as well as the challenges her organization faced since it was founded in 2003. Board members Yvonne Chan and Christina Lem, as well as Meg Davis, Asia Catalyst’s founder and executive director, spoke about how far the organization has come in the last five years. Thanks to everyone for coming out!
[NEWS] Activists Arrested Protesting Ban on U.S. Funding Syringe Exchange Programs
By Brian Bonci
Yesterday marked the National Day of Action on Syringe Exchange in the United States. Activists from around the country have mobilized to protest a recent reinstatement of the ban on federal funding for clean needle programs. Several harm reduction advocates were arrested, including Charles King, CEO of Housing Works. Current estimates are that 32 were arrested in Washington, DC alone. The Actions were organized by the We Can End AIDS Coalition, which is coordinating a mobilization around the International AIDS Conference on July 24th.
[COMMENTARY] Marginalization and HIV Risk Among Sex Workers in China | 中国性工作者的边缘化及艾滋病感染风险
By Mike Frick
A new study by researchers at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases examines the burden of HIV among female sex workers in 50 low- and middle-income countries. This is the first systematic review of HIV risk among female sex workers globally. The authors find that female sex workers in China face a 50-times increased odds of HIV infection compared to all Chinese women of reproductive age. This increased risk is slightly lower than the risk faced by female sex workers in India, but much higher than the increased odds of HIV infection among sex workers in Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam.
近日，约翰霍普斯金大学公共卫生学院研究人员在《柳叶刀传染病》杂志 (The Lancet Infectious Diseases)上发表最新研究，研究调查了在世界50个低、中等收入国家，艾滋病毒给女性性工作者中艾滋病感染的情况。这是第一份全球性的针对女性性工作者所面临的艾滋病风险的系统性综述研究。作者指出，在中国，与其他育龄女性相比，女性性工作者感染艾滋病毒的风险按50倍的几率增长。这一数值只稍稍低于印度女性性工作者面临的艾滋病毒感染率，但却远远高于泰国、柬埔寨、印度尼西亚和越南。
[NEWS] Cross Post From China Geeks on Blood Disaster
The following is a cross post from the great people at China Geeks. The site offers translation and analysis of modern China.
By Meg Davis
China’s annual “two sessions” wrapped up this week, and Chinese lawmakers finally considered proposals to establish a national compensation fund for thousands of victims of the world’s largest HIV blood disaster.
Back in 2002, Elisabeth Rosenthal wrote in the New York Timesthat in Henan, “poverty begat AIDS, but AIDS has begotten previously unimaginable poverty.” For thousands who received tainted blood transfusions while local authorities covered up the epidemic, the compensation fund would be a life-changer.
