[REPORT] HIV Real-Name Testing: Is China Ready? (2012)

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By Meg Davis and Shen Tingting

About 4 months ago, Guangxi and Hunan provinces announced plans to require real-name testing for HIV, and the Ministry of Health expressed support stating it should be a national policy. Immediately there was a huge outcry from the China Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS, the China Gay Male Health Forum, and others.
A joint report from Asia Catalyst and Korekata AIDS Law Center calls on China to protect patient confidentiality, provide counseling, and end compulsory testing in order to encourage more people to get tested for HIV. Without these basic rights, Chinese government programs that aim to expand HIV testing will not succeed.

The following briefly outlines our joint report and conclusions, but first we want to tell you about a community-run HIV testing program right here in Beijing, which has been dealing with these issues on the ground.

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[NEWS] Fighting Air Pollution with Transparency in China

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By Mike Frick

 

One of the first thing many visitors to Beijing notice is the smog, which on bad days can obscure buildings, force people to stay indoors or even ground planes at Beijing’s Capital Airport. In a new piece in The Guardian, Zhong Nanshan, President of the China Medical Association, said that air pollution will soon become the biggest health threat in China.

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[NEWS] South China Morning Post on Asia Catalyst/Korekata Report

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By Paul Mooney

An international NGO has issued a report urging Beijing to provide
compensation to tens of thousands of victims of the 1990s HIV-tainted
blood disaster, and arguing a fund is urgently needed as victims have
been unable to get fair compensation on their own.

“China has a historic opportunity to make things right for the victims
of the world’s largest HIV/Aids disaster,” said Sara Davis, executive
director of Asia Catalyst and a co-author of the report.

Read the full article here.

Download the Asia Catalyst/Korekata report.

[NEWS] UNAIDS China Chief Speaks Out on Real-Name HIV Testing

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In a brief interview with 新京报 Mark Stirling, Country Coordinator for UNAIDS China, points out that confidentiality is the key to the success of HIV testing policies. Rampant discrimination is one of the key factors that discourage people from taking HIV tests. Unfortunately, institutional discrimination by health care providers and employers are widespread in China, and many key affected populations (sex workers, injection drug users, and men who have sex with men) also face stigma related to their identities. Stirling observes that while public education on non-discrimination is important, the revision of discriminatory laws and policies is also essential in order to reduce institutional discrimination. 
Stirling points out that in one Beijing community testing center, 128 out of 351 people surveyed decided not to take the HIV test after being told they would have to give their real names.  He calls for support for HIV testing by community-based organizations, especially as a way to reach key affected populations. You can read the full text of the interview (in Chinese) here.
Please join us in signing the petition here to call for stronger confidentiality protections and stronger protections against discrimination.

[NEWS] Yirenping Center Reports on Disability Activism

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Beijing grassroots group, Yirenping Center (益仁平中心), has had a busy January organizing anti-discrimination activities with local disability activists! They produced a short report with data about their activities, including links to Chinese media sources. Yirenping Center, established in 2006, is a public interest group that focuses on health and discrimination. Download their report here (PDF).

The views represented by Yirenping Center are not necessarily those of Asia Catalyst.