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NGOs active in China's fight against AIDS
(China Daily)
Updated: 2004-07-20 14:36
Never before has the international community seen such a diversified Chinese
team at a world gathering for AIDS. But in Bangkok, Thailand, where the 15th
International AIDS Conference was held from July 11 to 17, the 200 Chinese
participants, including government officials, researchers, representatives of
non-government organizations and non-profit agencies, volunteers and people
living with HIV/AIDS (PLWA), were a noticed presence.
Former U.S.
president Bill Clinton met with a Chinese AIDS patient Song Pengfei
(right) during his visit to the Tsinghua University for a summit on
HIV-AIDS in China last November.
[newsphoto/file] | Chinese delegations to previous
conferences on the pandemic "were composed of only two or three dozen officials
and academicians," observed Song Pengfei, a 22-year-old PLWA from the China
chapter of Positive Art Workshop, an NGO dedicated to using art to present and
address AIDS/HIV issues in China and globally.
This time, however, Song himself met 20 HIV carriers from China, where an
estimated 840,000 people are HIV positive. The young man, whose organization
aims to express the voice and emotions of PLWA, became a media figure in
November 2003 when former US President Bill Clinton shook hands with him at a
symposium held at the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing.
Song went to the conference to present about 20 pieces of the art work done
by fellow PLWAs from the workshop. "We want to get the voices of China's
HIV-positive people heard," he said, adding that he is very much impressed by
the exhibition from China. "Thanks to negotiations by the China STD & AIDS
Foundation, one of the largest NGOs in the country, the display booths of
Chinese NGOs, which previously were scattered around the hall, were put
together, creating a much stronger visual impact."
In the first few days after the conference started, Song kept busy attending
to visitors from around the world and selling the artworks he had brought along.
As all the paintings, T-shirts and postcards were in the hands of those who care
for Chinese AIDS patients, he was able to concentrate on the treatment and
medication sessions.
"I'm also keen on learning how foreign NGOs or NPOs operate, and will look
for possible co-operation with the Chinese Government," he said, adding that his
organization has so far trained about 100 PLWAs in China.
"PLWAs in China are under great psychological pressure. They worry about
their work, treatment, financial problems and ways to keep a positive attitude
towards themselves. Life is particularly difficult for those living in cities.
Discrimination is still the biggest problem in China," he says.
Another activist at the Bangkok conference from China was Li Xiang, director
of the Mangrove Support Group, a network organization created for people living
with HIV/AIDS.
Li, also HIV positive, is glad to see more and more NGOs are active now in
China. "The NGOs are good at delivering care to HIV-positive people. They have
their own personal experience to share in peer education. They also have a
complementary role to play in working with prostitutes and drug abusers, because
they are closer to these people than government workers, who often feel awkward
working with these people."
Mangrove Support Group, whose main purpose is to improve the quality of life
for PLWAs through life-skill training and undertaking activities to publicize
messages relating to HIV/AIDS prevention and control, has so far been involved
in a number of beneficial events. Its programme has now reached Guangdong in the
south, Sichuan in the southwest and Henan in Central China, where there are
thousands of cases of HIV infection stemming from the operation of sub-standard
blood collection stations in the early 1990s.
Voices of NGOs
Wang Longde, vice-minister of health and head of the Chinese delegation to
the Bangkok conference, said that the government welcomes NGOs' involvement in
China's battle with AIDS. But Li Xiang notes that the complicated procedures for
NGOs to get officially registered and acknowledged are still blocking the way.
"Without proper registration, NGOs' survival and financial support cannot be
guaranteed," he said, adding that the voice of NGOs is still minimal. Even
though the central government is trying to ensure free treatment and medication
for certain groups, such treatment and medication might not reach the end
receiver in some cases because of impediments in between.
Statistics indicate that in China, as 64 per cent of HIV cases are caused by
injecting drug use, and infections through sexual transmission are slowly
picking up to a two-digit rate, prostitutes and drug addicts are getting
increasing attention from researchers and decision makers. In the meantime,
however, male homosexuals, a group with high-risk behaviour have been somewhat
neglected in the government intervention measures.
"Small NGOs like ours have the advantage of dealing face-to-face with HIV
prevention day in and day out," says Guo Yaqi, executive director of the Beijing
Gender Health Education Institute.
Chung To, an officer of the Hong Kong-based Chi Heng Foundation, which
brought a 25-minute documentary film on orphans in Henan for screening during
the conference, knows the great difficulty of working at the grassroots level.
The foundation has helped 1,200 children orphaned by the death of their
AIDS-infected patients to go back to school.
"Chi Heng was lucky to get accepted by the local government to work in Henan,
because we've always maintained a low profile," says Chung.
The local government recently announced that it would build orphanages to
provide a home for children whose lives have been disrupted by HIV/AIDS. Yet
Chung fears living in orphanages may result in long term psychological damage to
the children.
"It's better to put the children in foster families, where they can get
parental love and care," Chung suggests.
His other concern is that meanwhile, "it takes multi-sectoral efforts from
the health, public security and civil affairs authorities" to translate the good
intentions and strong political will demonstrated by the central government into
proper action.
Wan Yanhai, director of Beijing Aizhixing Institute of Health Education,
which has been in the forefront in promoting the rights of PLWA in China, is
very proud of the "revolutionary" role played by NGOs in drawing attention to
corners largely unknown or neglected by society.
In addition, he says, there should be transparency in government-led
programmes to ensure those in need actually benefit from the
programmes.
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