China has officially adopted the Test and Treat approach as a national policy. Now, any HIV positive person will be able to access lifesaving antiretroviral treatment (ART) regardless of CD4 count.
“This is a very important milestone to stop HIV in China,” said Dr. Yugang Bao, AHF Asia Deputy Bureau Chief. “We are happy to see the publication of new policy. We believe this will help more and more patients receive ART service early and greatly contribute to our 20×20 goal. AHF China also will be dedicated to pushing forward the implementation of the new policy.”
In 2012, when the Chinese government had just updated the ART initiation policy from CD4 200 to 350, AHF China started a pilot project by providing ART to patients regardless of CD4 level at two satellite sites of AHF-Guangxi site.
Peter Reis, Senior Vice President attended the launching ceremony of the pilot projects and visited the two hospitals. During dialogue with local leaders, he applauded this action and encouraged the health providers to mobilize all HIV positive people to start ART immediately regardless of CD4 level.
In recent years, scientific research has shown that starting ART as soon as possible is highly beneficial to patient health and also reduces the risk of HIV transmission in patients who consistently take their medications.
