Light the Red Ribbon for an AIDS Free Generation

With World AIDS Day approaching on December 1^st, many tend to reflect on the journey they have taken since the beginning of the epidemic. Like Mr Michel Sidebe, UNAIDS Executive Director, said this year, “the Ebola outbreak reminds us of the beginning of the epidemic. People were hiding and scared. Stigma and discrimination were widespread. There were no medicines and there was little hope”. Highlighting some of the conditions that still exist for people living with HIV/AIDS today. 

On the 27^th of November 2014, as we approach the 27^th World AIDS Day, it is clear that the journey made with HIV/AIDS from a once quiet desperation to now having the necessary treatment available and the essential knowledge on how to prevent the infection, is promising. Therefore it is clear why many have gathered at Pingot Community today, located in Beijing's central business district, where the MSM community organization Danlan is founded, to commemorate this day in an effort to revisit the promise and commitment to the goal of ending HIV/AIDS by 2030. Attending the event today were international organizations, government of China representatives, civil society partners as well as adolescent and young people. 

Before the formal event began, the “unite for children unite against AIDS” Youth Ambassadors and volunteers arrived early and spread out the giant “Learning about AIDS” monopoly game which they invented, discussing HIV testing, demonstrating condom use and promoting non-discrimination with visitors. 

The event was kicked off by a speech by Ms Catherine Sozi, Country Director of UNAIDS China, followed by a speech by Mr. Colin Sheperd, USCDC GAP China Office Director, and Dr. Wu Zunyou, Director of Center for AIDS Prevention and Control Under China CDC. Dr Wu Zunyou, when updating China's epidemic and challenges, pointed out that significant progress has been made in scaling up treatment, in pregnant women and infant diagnosis, and in harm reduction among people who inject drugs. Through scaling up testing, we have been able to identify HIV positive people we were not able to reach before. Among the 87,000 new HIV cases identified from January to October this year, 91.5% were sexually transmitted.  HIV infection among young people has significantly increased, especially among key populations, including men having sex with men. Therefore, he pointed out, that HIV prevention among young people is critical in the AIDS response.

The “AIDS Free Generation” event was echoed by the team that organized “The Voice of China”, a wildly popular singing contest. Two former contestants sang at the event, as young people committed to learn the facts on AIDS, protect themselves, and promote healthy behavior to their fans. In her absence, Momo Wu, winner of the first season of The Voice of China, recorded “Beloved”, a song she wrote for this special event, calling for adolescents and young people to learn self-protection and never discriminate.

As Dr Michel Sidebe said in a video shared at the event, “thanks to global solidarity, social mobilization and civil society activism, we have been able, together, to transform tragedy into opportunity. We have been able to break the conspiracy of silence, to reduce the price of medicines and break the trajectory of the AIDS epidemic. This has saved millions of lives…we now have to break the epidemic for good. If we don't, it could spring back and it will be impossible to end”.

One significant barrier to meeting the challenge is that prevention and treatment for adolescents lags seriously behind that of adults. Adolescents are the only age group where AIDS-related deaths are not declining. AIDS is the number one killer of adolescents in Africa, and number two globally. Worldwide, disproportionately high HIV prevalence is reported among adolescent males who have sex with males, adolescents who inject drugs and those who are sexually exploited. In China, the number of new infections among adolescents and young people are also rising.

Dr Wu answered young people's questions in detail on HIV testing, confidentiality issues, fees and what to do if they test positive, furthermore he highlighted the importance of testing early and knowing their HIV status. Mr Geng Le, CEO of Danlan – one of the organizers, shared his story on how he witnessed many young friends throughout his life becoming infected and his experience on using technology to reach the unreached with rapid testing, psychological support and referral. Representatives from participant organizations officially opened the “Danlan Testing Room”, and lighted a red ribbon over each of the 15 million users of Blued – a mobile app for the MSM community, calling for all society members to show their support for adolescents and young people with no discrimination, and together achieve an AIDS Free Generation. The event concluded with a poetry recital from the China Youth Network, reflecting on the highlighted issues discussed throughout the event.

The event was sponsored by UNAIDS, UNICEF and Danlan, co-sponsored by UNDP, UNFPA, UN Women, UNESCO, WHO, USCDC GAP, and with support from National Center for AIDS Prevention and Control under China CDC, Beijing CDC, and Beijing Youth Core Group for AIDS Prevention.