It’s an uneventful Wednesday night when we meet Xiao Dong outside an inconspicuous KTV in the middle of Fengtai district. Greeting us from his mobile HIV testing car, Xiao leads us inside the KTV before we venture to an empty room on the third floor (“The designated gay floor,” he explains).
Xiao is in charge of a new initiative which sees mobile labs provide free HIV tests to young gay men. The first electric minicars were launched last month by UNAIDS’ China office and the National Center for AIDS and STD Control and Prevention Center (The Center) to mark Global Zero Discrimination Day (March 1).
The cars travel at night to popular gay spots around the city, including parks, bars and bathhouses. And tonight Xiao has let us accompany him to find out more about the scheme.
It takes no more than a few minutes for Xiao to set up his equipment. Soon, four young men enter the room, a slight anxiety visible beneath a surface of youthful bravado.
Xiao passes each man a kit before briefly going over the procedure and all that is required ("You just need to brush your teeth," Xiao says). To us, it seems as if the HIV testing kit functions similarly to a pregnancy kit: Once a bodily fluid – in this case, saliva – is inserted into the kit, a ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ result appears upon the display after about 15 minutes.
All of the men are ‘negative,’ much to their relief. Xiao tells them they must get tested again next month before gifting them a box of condoms and a key ring. As the men head out to continue their night of KTV, a straggler pops in and asks if Xiao is still offering check ups.
“We’ll be back tomorrow,” Xiao tells him. While tonight’s men were all HIV-free, others have not been so lucky, Xiao tells us. “Since we began the mobile testing, we have tested 126 people. So far, six percent have had an HIV-positive diagnosis.”
The initiative is particularly relevant for young gay men, aged 15 to 24, who are considered a high-risk group. Last year the number of reported student cases of HIV in China was 3,400 – more than four times that of 2008. Nearly 81 percent of the students contracted the virus through gay sex, according to a statement by the director of The Center, Wu Zunyou.
While China has over 2,000 government HIV testing outlets offering free tests, many at-risk individuals, such as young gay men, are hesitant to go.
Xiao hopes that the user-friendly nature of the mobile testing vehicles will appeal more to this target demographic. His organization provides support for those who test positive by accompanying them to counseling and other follow-up treatment services for up to two weeks post-diagnosis. The service is also available to women, Xiao explains.
“Women can give us a call if they’d like to try,” he says. If they are close we can go to them, or we can kuaidi a testing kit.”
Reaction in the gay community has been largely positive. Editor-in-chief of gay magazine Gayspot, Zhao Ke, tells us by email: “[The vehicles] are very consistent with the characteristics and needs of the gay community. They can go directly to the people, so that everyone can have access to testing and counseling services.”
Meanwhile, a member of Beijing’s gay community, Zhen Li shares: “It’s hard to say whether or not it’s good, yet. Some of my friends saw it in front of [popular gay-friendly club] Destination. The government provided RMB50 million for NGOs to deliver HIV prevention and control [initiatives] and this project is one of them. I wish it well but the number of gay men it’s able to recruit for testing will be the best indicator of its success.”
It’s still early days, and Xiao says there are “many gaps and areas for improvement.” But from what we see, the initiative has plenty of potential and is already providing a vital service for those it has tested so far.
For more information call HIVCT 400 090 9744
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