NGOs' participation help China's AIDS fight

BEIJING - Chinese Vice-Premier Li Keqiang has promised to give greater support to non-government organization (NGOs) in combating HIV/AIDS as the number of new HIV/AIDS cases in the country rose in the first 10 months of the year.

His vow this week comes as a strong boost of confidence to China's near 1,000 NGOs involved in the battle.

From January to October, 16,131 new cases of HIV infections among citizens above 50 years old were reported, marking a year-on-year increase of 20.2 percent. There were also 9,514 new cases of HIV reported among the 15-24-year-olds, up 12.8 percent year on year, according to figures from the Ministry of Health.

Volunteers from the Youth Volunteers Association at Fuyang Teachers College show a red ribbon publicity board in Fuyang, East China's Anhui province on Nov 29, 2012. [Photo/Xinhua]

The burgeoning number of NGOs in the past decade has played an indispensable role in HIV/AIDS detection, publicity and consulting as well as prevention and control, as a strong support to government efforts in the fight against AIDS.

The community-based NGO is easily accepted by HIV carriers as many NGOs have been founded by HIV carriers themselves. They can easily access special social groups including gays, lesbians and sex workers, who are difficult for government organizations to get in touch with.

More than half of the new male homosexual HIV carriers in Beijing last year were discovered by NGOs, according to Wu Zunyou, director of the National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention.

Their role in providing consulting and giving constant care to HIV carriers can not be replaced.

The NGOs are professional in disseminating HIV/AIDS knowledge and dealing with HIV carriers and AIDS patients. Members of these organizations consist of doctors, medical students and HIV carriers themselves. They know what the patients need most and how to satisfy their needs. They are more sensitive to their real demands.

A microblog from Li Hu, an HIV carrier and leader of an AIDS relief NGO based in the northern port city of Tianjin, sparked an outcry from the public and changed the lives of many Chinese AIDS patients.

In Li's posting on the popular Weibo.com two weeks ago, he mentioned an AIDS patient was denied care at a local hospital and had to fake his medical record to get surgery at another hospital. In response to the public's call, the Ministry of Health issued a memo last Friday ordering authorities to take steps to guarantee the right to medical treatment for people with HIV/AIDS.

As grass-roots organizations, NGOs are low in operating cost and high in working efficiency. Their achievements are remarkable.

Tianjin Deep Blue Work Group, an AIDS prevention NGO, conducted 10,005 AIDS tests in 2011 and confirmed 345 HIV carriers, which accounted for one third of the city's total.

Although NGOs have made great contributions to China's fight against AIDS, their efforts have been dented by bottleneck in their registration and lack of funding.

Some NGOs face difficulties getting registered at civil affairs departments. Without such registration, the groups cannot qualify for tax exemption and even have trouble opening bank accounts that can accept donations.

As non-profit organizations, the NGOs need stable support from the government to sustain their development.

Currently, many of them depend on funding from foreign charity foundations. As the global financial crisis and European debt crisis sweeps the world, the scale of funding from the West is getting smaller.

Vice-Premier Li Keqiang promised at a discussion with a group of NGO representatives from across China on Monday that the government will pay greater attention to the voice of NGOs and give more support to them in terms of government purchasing of services, funds and taxation policies.

With concerted effort by the government and NGOs, the prospects for China's fight against HIV/AIDS are promising.