China CDC and BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS renewed partnership reaffirms commitment to international collaboration in fight against HIV/AIDS

published on October 29, 2018

China CDC and the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS strengthen their partnership in support of Treatment as Prevention to curb the impact of HIV/AIDS

(October 29, 2018, Beijing) The National Centre for AIDS/STD Control / Prevention and Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCAIDS/China CDC) and British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) are renewing their partnership to tackle HIV/AIDS.

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed by delegates from the BC-CfE and NCAIDS/China CDC to promote and collaborate on health priorities affecting China, British Columbia and the global community in relation to HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C virus (HCV) and related conditions.

“China will continue to use the best science and evidence from around the world and implement strategies that have a real impact on curbing the transmission of HIV/AIDS,” said Dr. Zunyou Wu, Chief Epidemiologist China CDC and Director of Division of HIV Prevention, NCAIDS/China CDC. “Our vision is to see a world without HIV/AIDS and HCV. The BC-CfE has been at the forefront of tackling both these diseases with innovative, targeted and sustained approaches that have worked in British Columbia.”

The China and BC-CfE MOU establishes a three-year HIV Treatment as Prevention Fellowship program that will allow top Chinese scientists to come to Vancouver to work with researchers and clinicians at the BC-CfE. The fellowship program will be offered for three Chinese scientists over three years.

“Our partnership with Dr. Zunyou Wu and his colleagues is based on mutual trust and collaboration and a deep commitment to ending HIV/AIDS using evidence-based research and strategies known to be effective in the fight against HIV/AIDS, such as Treatment as Prevention,” says Dr. Julio Montaner, Director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. “We will continue to work jointly, as we have for several years now, to improve the health of British Columbians and Chinese citizens and advance strategies like Treatment as Prevention—and the various initiatives that have evolved from this strategy to reduce new cases of HIV year over year.”

The collaboration between BC and China began in 2009 and, in 2011, China was the first nation to formally announce its adoption of the BC-CfE-pioneered Treatment as Prevention strategy. This was followed by the signing of the first MOU between the BC-CfE and China in 2013. Since then BC-CfE and China CDC have collaborated in adapting the Treatment as Prevention strategy developed in British Columbia to be applicable in China with promising results. As a result, China embedded the Treatment as Prevention strategy into their national HIV/AIDS policy. The strategy involves widespread HIV testing and immediate offer of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) to people living with HIV. Sustained treatment has been shown to markedly reduce AIDS-related morbidity and mortality, as well as HIV transmission.

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About the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
The BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) is Canada’s largest HIV/AIDS research, treatment and education facility – nationally and internationally recognized as an innovative world leader in combating HIV/AIDS and related diseases. The made-in-BC Treatment as Prevention strategy (TasP) pioneered by BC-CfE, and supported by UNAIDS since 2011, inspired the ambitious global target for HIV treatment - known as the 90-90-90 Target - to end AIDS as a pandemic by 2030. The BC-CfE is applying TasP to therapeutic areas beyond HIV/AIDS, including viral hepatitis and substance use, to promote Targeted Disease Elimination as a means to contribute to healthcare sustainability. The BC-CfE works in close collaboration with key stakeholders, including government, health authorities, health care providers, academics, and the community to decrease the health burden of HIV/AIDS, HCV and substance use across Canada and around the world.

For more information, please contact:
Caroline Dobuzinskis, BC-CfE Communications Coordinator
Phone: 604-366-6540, Email: cdobuzin@cfenet.ubc.ca

Rena Heer
Cell: 604-250-2800, Email: rena.heer@edelman.com

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China CDC and BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS renewed partnership reaffirms commitment to international collaboration in fight against HIV/AIDS

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