Latest  News

●NGO offers free HIV home test kits Ahead of World AIDS Day on December 1, a local NGO has offered 200 free home testing kits, in an attempt to reach those who may be at risk of the disease, but are too afraid to approach an official organization due to privacy concerns. ●Guangdong boosts HIV/AIDS aid Needy HIV/AIDS patients in Guangdong Province will finally be given a minimum living allowance by the end of 2015, according to a plan released Sunday by the provincial government on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. ●HIV patient to sue hospital over cancer op refusal An HIV-positive patient who was refused treatment for lung cancer is planning to sue the hospital concerned, a Beijing-based NGO told the Global Times Wednesday.

●Patient's experience: HIV patient Xiao Feng was originally refused treatment at Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital in early October after they discovered his HIV-positive status; He then came to Beijing to ask for treatment at Ditan Hospital and was also rejected; He forged the medical record and another Tianjin hospital finally did operate on him.

●Patient's voice: "I have no way but to forge the medical record. I plan to tell the hospital my HIV status after the operation."(Source: Beijing News)

●Hospital's voice: An anonymous media officer from Ditan Hospital said if a hospital rejected a patient, it would be for reasons other than having HIV/AIDS.

●Official voice: Vice Premier Li Keqiang urged Ministry of Health to ensure HIV patients' right to receive medical treatment, and at the same time, ensure the safety of the medical workers.

●National regulation: According to the 2006 Regulation on the Prevention and Treatment of HIV/AIDS, all medical organizations must provide HIV/AIDS patients with treatment for non-HIV diseases, although it does not stipulate a punishment if the hospital refuses.

●Pro and con: Zhou Zijun, a professor with the School of Public Health of Peking University, thought that Xiao Feng's actions were inappropriate since it can put doctors and other patients in danger; Li Hu, the manager of the North China Region of the China Alliance of People Living with HIV/AIDS, thought that Xiaofeng faced great discrimination when attempting to access medical treatment.

Discriminations

	Eployment discrimination Xiaowu, 20, from a rural village in Anhui Province, was very proud of himself for getting into a top university in 2006. However, shortly after graduation as he sought a decent job, an HIV-positive blood test tore his life apart. Story: HIV carriers fight back
	AIDS orphan discriminated It's also a story of a caring, elderly man, the boy's only mentor, whose worst fear is outliving his 14-year-old student. The story takes place in a village of Kuandian Manchu Autonomous County in Dandong, Liaoning Province, where Jin Feng was born to parents who were both infected with HIV. Story: Shunned and avoided
	Real-name dispute on HIV A senior health official of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention advocated the use of real-name HIV testing. However HIV carriers and NGOs thought that exposure may drive many carriers away due to the fear of public discrimination. Story: Real-Name risks
	Blood donation discrimination The ban on homosexual blood donors, enacted in 1998, has been lifted on lesbians effective in July. Gay blood givers were still rejected. Story: Banishing the ban
	Prison for criminal with HIV In a prison that holds HIV-positive criminals in Guangdong Province, the guards looking after them were ostracized by their colleagues. They saw former friends excuse themselves from the dinner table when they arrived. Unmarried younger officers did not even tell their families about their special duty. Story: Crime, disease and punishment

Opinions

Media Comments:

●The Beijing News: Who's to blame?
Xiaofeng is at fault in the case. However, we should see that many HIV patients in China have not got the basic right of medical treatment.

●Global Times: AIDS Day attention reflects usual abandonment of HIV patients
HIV/AIDS prevention does not simply mean updating data. Healthy people should not just ignore the situation and tell themselves they will be alright by having safe sex and staying away from drugs. For the patients, the pain of the disease is doubled from being rejected by society.

●Xinhua: Discrimination a challenge in HIV prevention
Discrimination has caused people with risky behavior to become reluctant to be tested for HIV, posing a challenge for HIV control and prevention efforts

●Changjiang Daily: Don't abandon AIDS patients on the margins
In the public management sector, the government should fulfill its obligation in treating and helping HIV-positive patients and strengthen the detoxification of drug addicts. Meanwhile, the facilities for holding HIV-positive criminals should be improved.

Common people's awareness to AIDS in Beijing street:

Name	Age	Job	Nationality	Voice
Bi Luping	23	student	China	Overall, I would be afraid to meet someone who has AIDS, but I would treat them as I would anyone else.
Wang Xinyan	55	retired	China	If an innocent person gets the virus, I will take sympathy. However, if the person is infected due to promiscuity, I may not be kind.
Kerry Johnson	28	event planner	UK	I don't really know the situation here, but back home there has been a great deal about trying not to make these people feel like they're different.
Geng Fandi	32	clerk	China	I think people should not treat them any differently, but at the same time we should be aware of the certain measures that can be taken to protect ourselves.
Wei Qing	32	IT employee	China	Society's attitude towards people with AIDS is much better than before. We should give them more care and love, in order to help them live with courage.
Tian Shuo	12	student	China	My teacher has told us to be friendly towards the unhealthy people and encourage them to be brave.
Toby Fountain	19	tourist	UK	I haven't had enough time in China to really know what the attitudes are, but this seems to be a place where differences stand out.

Social Efforts

●NGO calls for more transparency of HIV/AIDS programs for children
Beijing Aizhixing Institute, a non-governmental HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment organization, is calling on the government to provide more detail on how it spends the more than 2-billion yuan ($320 million) treating and preventing the disease.

●HIV/AIDS campus campaign aims to end prejudice
About 200 students from 21 universities lit candles in remembrance of those who have died from AIDS-related illness at a memorial service held in Beijing on May 20.

●HIV-positive civil service applicants appeal for employment rights
Three people who are HIV-positive have sent a letter to the State Council appealing for the removal of the regulations which state that those who are HIV-positive are not qualified to work within the country’s civil service program.

●NGOs oppose HIV testing policy
The controversy surrounding the government's promotion of real-name HIV testing in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Hunan Province reached a new high when two influential non-governmental organizations sent letters to related government bodies calling for an end to the draft regulation.

●Working with AIDS patients: an ordinary nurse and her extraordinary tale
To 44-year-old nurse Hu Minhua, taking care of AIDS patients and ensuring their spirits remain high is her daily routine. Since she started this work a decade ago, she has looked after approximately 200 patients in a hospital in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, and offered advice to tens of thousands more online.

Govt's Actions

●Chinese premier pledges more financial aid to AIDS patients, urging less discrimination
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pledged new measures to help people living with HIV/AIDS obtain affordable drug treatment, enjoy fair job and education chances and avoid being discriminated on December 1, 2011.

●Proposed law to help the needy
China plans to develop a law to govern its social welfare programs. People living with HIV/AIDS and severe mental illness were for the first time given heathcare benefits.

●Non-profit project on HIV testing
The project is held by Center for Disease Control. The testing is claimed to take only 30 minutes in a confidential, one-on-one setting. For those who test positive, the project provides further buddy-style counseling services.