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The China AIDS Initiative:
Report on Programs

The China AIDS Initiative (CAI) is an alliance of Chinese and international organizations dedicated to helping China accelerate its response to HIV/AIDS. This report describes programs coordinated by CAI since its creation in November 2003.

CAI’s overarching mission is to mobilize expertise and resources from its partner organizations: each brings unique strengths and the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.  For example, with a $1 million grant from a Hong Kong foundation, CAI has launched an innovative program to prevent Mother To Child Transmission of HIV.  To do so CAI draws on experts from Yale University’s medical and nursing schools (technical assistance, training of local teams), medical experts from Wuhan University (liaison and monitoring local teams), public health officials in China (testing, treatment and counseling of pregnant women and newborns) as well as in-kind donations from Abbott Laboratories (rapid testing kits).

This multi-party project is representative of others CAI is undertaking and illustrative of the unique challenges an international public health alliance faces. CAI relies on complex interactions among the partners and on constructive working relationships with public officials. It brings together multiple institutions, each with distinct mandates, cultures and decision-making styles. Its objectives are long-term in nature. Success requires spanning national borders to work on a global scale. The partnership model promises faster, better and more cost-effective solutions, but for maximum impact we must continually work to strengthen communication and connectivity among the partners, and gain confidence and trust of the Chinese official sector.

CAI partners include the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, Yale-China Association, China AIDS Media Project, and Harvard University in the US as well as the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Tsinghua University, Wuhan University, Bureaus of Health of Yunnan, Hubei, and Henan, and the Hong Kong AIDS Foundation in China.  The role and contributions of CAI’s principal partners are detailed in the attachment.

CAI is funded by a small but generous group of individuals and institutions in the U.S. and Asia, and through in-kind contributions from its partners. Funding has been particularly forthcoming from Hong Kong, where an enthusiastic committee has secured substantial support for CAI from local benefactors.

As architect, integrator and manager of the consortium, the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center is working to maximize partners’ opportunities to contribute and to encourage input by all stakeholders.  This bridge-building role is one of ADARC’s key contributions to CAI.  Dr. David Ho, Director and CEO of ADARC, draws on the partners’ core competencies to design programs responsive to China’s needs in four primary areas: Advocacy, Professional Training, Antiretroviral Treatment, and Vaccine Research and Preparedness.  Each is detailed below.