HIV & AIDS was first identified in an American tourist in 1985 and the first epidemic of HIV infections was detected among drug users in the border regions of China in 1989. China has a low prevalence epidemic, although some key regions are experiencing high prevalence epidemics. Overall in 2009, prevalence among the general population was 0.057% [1] and was 0.2% among young people aged 15-24 [2].

By the end of 2009, 740,000 adults and children were estimated to be living with HIV whereas a high estimate of 140,000 people are newly infected with HIV. There were an estimated 26,000 AIDS related deaths in adults and children in 2009. Cumulatively, a total of 326,000 cases of people living with HIV (PLHIV) had been reported and 54,000 people died of AIDS by the end of 2009. Women accounted for 29.8% of reported HIV cases. An estimated 160,000 to 300,000 women were living with HIV by the end of 2009 [3].

Among the estimated 740,000 PLHIV in 2009, 59% were infected through sexual transmission: 44.3% through heterosexual while 14.7% through homosexual transmission [1].

The six provinces with the most reported number of HIV & AIDS cases are Yunnan, Guangxi, Henan, Sichuan, Xinjiang and Guangdong, which together accounted for 70%-80% of the total number of reported HIV cases nationwide [1].

China is beset with vulnerability and risk factors, which include: the increasing levels of sexually transmitted infections; risk behaviours among rural-to-urban migrant workers and their very low access to HIV information and services; severe stigma and discrimination towards people living with HIV and key affected populations; low levels of HIV knowledge among key affected populations especially among female sex workers; limited coverage of prevention packages to address high-risk behaviours, especially among  injecting drug users; minimal involvement of civil society in the AIDS response; limited utilization of voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) and sexually transmitted infection (STI) services; weak linkage between the identification of HIV status and referral to treatment and care responses; and limited access to psychological support services for HIV-positive children who suffer trauma, abandonment and discrimination [4].

Sources

[1] Ministry of Health of the People’s Republic of China. (2010). China UNGASS Country Progress Report 2010 (Period 2008 - 2009)

[2] Ministry of Health of the People’s Republic of China. 2009 National HIV/AIDS Sentinel Surveillance Results cited in China UNGASS Country Progress Report 2010

[3] Ministry of Health of the People’s Republic of China, UNAIDS, & WHO. (2010). 2009 Estimates for the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in China. Beijing.

[4] Asia Catalyst, “I will fight to my last breath”: Barriers to AIDS treatment for Children in China, April 2009, www.asiacatalyst.org