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Authors:
Jacques du Guerny, Lee-Nah Hsu and Cao Hong
A joint publication of UNDP and CIDA
Foreword
Ruili is one of the
cities in China where HIV was first detected. It demonstrates the
complexity of HIV/AIDS epidemics. Ruili, located close to the
Myanmar border in South West China, illustrates migration and the
underlying development forces which stimulate it. These critical
factors must be considered when developing HIV intervention
strategies.
Dealing with HIV/AIDS in cities such as Ruili seems straightforward
on the surface. Traditional health care approaches to HIV, which
target high-risk population groups, e.g. entertainment service
workers and injecting drag users and implemented through the formal
health care system, seem to apply. However, below the surface, the
reality is much more complex. A highly mobile migrant population
interacting with the underlying poverty, geographic location and
thriving trade system contributes to the complexity of the epidemic.
The epidemic is intensified by population movements, where HIV is
both brought into and carried out of Ruili and its surrounding
areas.
Ruili's case aptly demonstrates the fact that HIV epidemcs cannot be
dealt with solely at a local level. Instead, Ruili's role in the
larger regional HIV system must be considered. Moreover, the Ruili
case shows that to ensure effective solutions to HIV epidemics that
move beyond short term answers and immediate factors, population
movements and the underlying long term development elements must be
addressed. In addition, Ruili illustrates that for HIV/AIDS policies
to be effective, one must take a multisectoral approach. This would
require regional intercountry collaborations because population
movements and the associated underlying development causes cut
across sectoral lines and international boundaries.
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English,
Chinese,
Indonesian
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