HIV/AIDS Structural Interventions in China: Concept, Context and Opportunities

Abstract

The global HIV/AIDS epidemic has leveled off in recent years, attributable to advances in both treatment and prevention. With 33 million people infected and 2.1 million deaths in 2007, HIV/AIDS remains a leading cause of death (UNAIDS, 2007). In many developing countries, the HIV virus is still spreading out of control. China, the most populous country in the world, has witnessed an alarming increase in new HIV cases (Grusky et al., 2002). In 2007, the Chinese Ministry of Health reported in its biennial HIV/AIDS epidemic update that the estimated number of HIV infection cases reached 700,000 (Chinese Ministry of Health [CMOH] & World Health Organization [WHO], 2007). In the last few years there has been a notable shift in the HIV epidemic from ethnic minorities to the majority Han population, from rural to urban areas, from intravenous drug injection (IDU) transmission to heterosexual transmission, and from isolation of the epidemic among high risk groups to involvement of the general population(China CDC, 2004; UNAIDS, 2003).