The strategy of this project is to simultaneously address five barriers to the effective control of the HIV epidemic.
First, local community attitudes about HIV/AIDS must change to enable successful HIV/AIDS activities (Objective 1). Stigma reduction and advocacy campaigns will be initiated, targeted at the general public, policymakers and government and law enforcement officials.
Second, activities that have been proven to prevent the spread of HIV among vulnerable populations with high risk behavior must be rapidly expanded (Objective 2) Activities will include condom promotion (including 100% condom use policies), VCT (including pre- and post-test counseling), and BCC/IEC outreach. Outreach, peer education, and NGO-led initiatives will be the core of this service delivery area. By the end of year 5, more than 4 million individuals will have received BCC, IEC, and condom promotion services, 26.5 million condoms will be distributed (some free, some using social marketing methods), and regular condom use among MSM and SW will increase.
Third, STI services will be linked to HIV prevention efforts and new guidelines will be put in place to improve how STI cases are detected, treated, and managed (Objective 3). In the first year of this program, new guidelines for case reporting, partner notification, and contact tracing will be developed and implemented. 180 STI clinics and at least 900 health care professionals will receive training and support. During the five year period, more than 84,000 individuals in the vulnerable groups will receive discounted STI services, and the STI infection rate in those groups will decline.
Fourth, effective partnerships between government agencies and civil society groups must be formed, and the strengths of each sector fully utilized (Objective 4). This will include supporting and strengthening grass-roots NGOs and PLWHA groups, as well as involving these groups as partners in prevention efforts (such as pre and post-VCT counseling provided by PLWHA, etc). By the end of the project period, at least 18 PLWHA groups and 54 community-based NGOs will have received financial and technical support, and those groups will have cooperated with local government and non-government activities to provide outreach, counseling, or other services to at least 200,000 people.
Fifth, China’s surveillance system must be strengthened and linked to HIV prevention efforts, with better information more effectively used in designing interventions (Objective 5). This will include technical assistance to reinforce and expand the surveillance system and its links with prevention and control activities as well as second generation surveillance including extensive behavioral surveys of target populations.