China Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS (CAP+) Statement on
Real-Name Testing Policy for HIV/AIDS
For those following the uproar about proposed policies in Guangxi, endorsed the Ministry of Health, that would institute real-name HIV testing and compulsory partner notification (summary on our blog, here); below is a strong statement with reference to Chinese laws by China’s national association of people living with HIV/AIDS. A short summary in English follows.
By Sara L.M. Davis
In his recent New York Times op-ed, Paul Farmer calls for increased funding for
the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. He’s right, but to
really put muscle into the fight against HIV/AIDS, the Global Fund also needs
to change its top-down approach to funding, given the reality that HIV/AIDS
specifically targets the most marginalized people in any society.
By Asia Catalyst
On February 8, China’s Ministry of Health and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) both expressed support for new proposed regulations in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region that would implement real-name testing for HIV, suggesting these could become national policy. Wang Yu, Director of the Chinese CDC, said that real-name HIV testing would allow health workers to follow-up with people who test positive, helping them to access treatment and prevent transmitting HIV to sexual partners.
We are concerned that without stronger confidentiality protections and stronger laws on discrimination, a move to real-name HIV testing will drive more people underground and away from government testing and treatment programs. Please sign this petition to the Ministry of Health.
China Program Officer Mike Frick produced a snapshot of the current state of health rights groups in China, based off information gathered from NGOs that participated in Asia Catalyst’s coaching program. China’s civil society sector has grown rapidly over the past ten years, but it is still in an early stage of development. Because most grassroots NGOs are unable to legally register, and because most founders have little to no prior NGO or management experience, they face numerous challenges in the effort to professionalize operations while providing needed services and conducting policy advocacy. Read the full report here.
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.
