The Revolution of HIV Testing

Abstract

HIV testing is an important HIV control strategy—an opportunity to know one’s status and the first step for diagnosed individuals to link to care and enter treatment. Here, we describe HIV testing before and after antiretroviral therapy (ART) became available in China. We focus particularly on China’s innovations in promoting HIV testing, including active HIV testing campaigns and the debate that surrounded this controversial practice at that time. HIV testing has been viewed as a core component of HIV prevention efforts among key populations, such as men who have sex with men, female sex workers, and others, and has been used as an indicator to monitor the implementation of China’s National HIV/AIDS Program. China’s method of setting targets for numbers of diagnoses is very unique and has successfully facilitated increases in HIV diagnosis rates over the past decade. Chinese HIV/AIDS experts have also greatly influenced and contributed to the movement toward HIV testing as an important global control strategy in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Nevertheless, China still has a long way to go to reach the UNAIDS 90-90-90 Targets and improving HIV testing strategies is an important next step toward reaching these goals.