Sino-africa On Hiv And Aids_compatible

NKUYE MOYO PEKING UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF POPULATION RESEARCH MASTER’S STUDENT

 Introduction  Situation analysis of HIV & AIDS in China  At-risk groups  Statistics for AIDS in Asia  Issues of stigma and discrimination  Government response  Issues of Concern  Situation analysis of Africa  Roles of China and Africa in containing the

epidemic

 HIV and AIDS are not just a public health issues  It’s a workplace, developmental challenge and wide spread

insecurity.  It cuts across all socio-cultural aspects of life and dements economic structure of affected nations  One key fact is it has its primary impact on the working-age population  Possible evolution of pandemic from localized highprevalence to more spread, generalized epidemic poses critical question to which few good answers exist.  No adequate scrutiny of population for HIV by Chinese govt  Govt’s responsiveness though improving, lags especially with respect to at-risk populations

 This has led to long term spread and impact of the disease  Lack of reliable, comprehensive surveillance & reporting

system coupled with an ineffective referral chain with Chinese healthcare system challenges the determination of the true impact of the disease  Majority of Chinese PLHA are within marginalized, at-risk, and hard to reach persons such as IDUs, CSWs, and migrant workers.  Disease predominantly found in remote poor among ethnic minorities in southwestern and western China.

 All provinces and municipalities have HIV+ In china  End 2005, 600,000 people were infected  ¾ living in Yunnan, Henan, Xinjiang, Guangxi and

Guangdong provinces  2006, Ministry of Health reveals that new HIV cases soar by 45%  In 2007 govt says 700,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS  Year before, China lowered estimate from 840,000 to 650,000 despite international experts warnings

 More troubling is data regarding at-risk groups  Data shows that prevalence tripled among IDU from 1.95% in

1998 to 6.48% in 2004  Also from 0.02% in 1996 to almost 1.0% in 2004 among CSWsabout 5-fold jump  Among pregnant women in high-risk areas, prevalence dramatically grew from nil in 1997 to 0.26 in 2004  End of 2005, provinces such Yunnan, Henan and Xinjiang had prevalent rates exceeding 1.0% for pregnant women and others that received premarital and clinical HIV testing.  In Sichuan province, prevalence among IDUs rose from 115 in 2002 to 18% in 2004  More males are IDUs but most women who use IDU are CSW thereby increasing risk of acquiring HIV  In 2003 about 30%-40% IDUs in China were women and sold sex

 UNAIDS 2008 reduced HIV estimates for China from 840,000

to 700,000 due to better methods of estimation and data availability  Like other Asian countries, prevalence Prevalence in China is low at Country 0.1% Cambodia rate 1.6 (%) China

0.1

Indonesia

1.0

Philippines

1.0

Bangladesh

0.2

India

0.3

Viet Nam

0.5

Myanmar

1.8

Thailand

1.4

South Korea

0.1

 A study in 2008 in Kunming, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen,

Wuhan and Zhengzhou showed high levels of lack of information  Misconceptions such getting infected from mosquito bite, using the same toilet, eating together and using the same tools with some infected were highly pronounced  Attitudes towards condom use was also very low at 19.2% while 30% feel it’s not good for HIV positive pupils to study with the uninfected ones.  With migrant workers showing greatest opposition at 48.7%  Also found is that most respondents (83.4%) have never searched for information on HIV & AIDS on their own  And 88% felt they were not at risk of contracting HIV

 Since 2003, there has been recommendable improvement in

handling issues of HIV & AIDS.  Increased budget from RMB100 million ($12.5 million) in 2002 to RMB 800 million ($100 million) in 2005.  For 2006- 2007 more than doubled to RMB 1.5 billion ($185 million)  2003, China CARES (comprehensive AIDS response) initiated funding from central govt and Global fund  2002, free HIV testing available in 15 provinces, from 365 counties to over 2,300 counties  2006, long awaited regulations put in place that look at plight of PLHA while also codifying stigma & discrimination  Govt acknowledges fact its facing battle in resolving HIV and AIDS

 People with risky behaviors feel they at risk of

catching HIV due to limited understanding of the virus  Need to clear misconception as can be seen from high stigma & discrimination  Media should become proactive in disseminating information- possible only if govt provides an enabling environment  Non availability of CSOs calls for better integration of govt and NGOs to help revamp the fight against HIV & AIDS

 A little more than 10% of world’s population live in Africa  Yet 2/3 of all PLWA live in sub-Saharan Africa causing

immense suffering in the continent.  During 2007 alone, about 1.5 million adults and children died due AIDS  The prevalence vary dramatically with Southern Africa being the most affected.  Account for 1/3 of all infections and deaths to HIV & AIDS globally.  8 countries had prevalence rates above 15% in 2005;Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.  Nowhere else in the world has notional prevalence reached such levels

 The graph shows prevalence rates in Southern

Africa 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

East African prevalence

 Overall numbers of infection remain small except

for Sudan  However, they have been increasing in most countries due to expanded HIV testing  In 2005 Sudan had highest national prevalence at 1.6 %  Like any other part of Africa, the problem with this sub region is MSM as data is scanty as such is viewed as taboo, highly stigmatized and underresearched Main transmission in Libya,Algeria, Tunisia

and morocco is IDU.

 China has heavily invested in Africa in mining,

agriculture, manufacturing, e.t.c  Investment in public health is yet to be noticed  Common knowledge tells us Africa has been hardest hit with poverty, hunger and disease  Mostly Chinese investment has been applauded though section of society feel it lacks social responsibility  However co-existence has to be emphasize when talking about the China-Africa relations  Earlier statistics pose a looming danger if unchecked for both on human resources  Casual sex between Chinese investment employees and African local girls has been documented; eg Zambia  This same group of employees would travel for holiday home hence transmitting the virus to family members

 China can learn from Africa how some countries have been

reducing the prevalence rate  So many success stories, e.g Uganda  China needs to get out of the closet e.g Yoweri Museveni of Uganda  Cognizance is made for senior leaders taking part in the fight. E.g Premier Wenjinbao  African would like to see more investment in public health in localities of Chinese investment  Chinese investors need more knowledge of pandemic before investing in Africa as well as their social responsibility  Researchers and scholars should view health as paramount when discussing these relation not solely looking at trade and investment  More research is needed to better understand the mutual benefits of fighting the epidemic.

Thank you very much for listening

Peking University Institute of Population Research Nkuye Moyo [email protected] Mobile:13261738922 Home: 01062763419