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HIV Prevention Programme

Bureau / Department Department of Health (DH)
Objective To maintain Hong Kong as a low HIV prevalence area.
Content To monitor the HIV prevention programme, Hong Kong Advisory Council on AIDS (ACA) formulated a 5-year AIDS strategies entitled "Recommended HIV/AIDS Strategies in Hong Kong 2007-2011", which was launched in April 2007.
Groups / Persons Affected Injecting drug users, men who have sex with men, female sex workers and male clients.
Impact Over the years, DH acknowledged the importance of the needs and perspectives of women when developing strategies for the prevention of HIV / AIDS. The ACA published in 2007 a "Recommended HIV / AIDS Strategy 2007-2011". When drawing up strategies, a Community Assessment and Evaluation exercise was conducted to examine several groups key to HIV prevention and care. Women and children together with female sex workers and their clients were two distinct relevant gender groups included in the exercise. DH also exchanged views on the subject with stakeholders, including the Women's Commission and women's groups. The strategic recommendation relating to include-
  • promoting safer sex for extending the benefit to low risk women;
  • prevention of mother to child transmission - late presenting mothers missed their HIV tests during pregnancy resulting in unknown HIV status at labour. It was therefore recommended that rapid testing should be introduced to supplement the existing universal antenatal HIV testing; and
  • maintaining high general awareness and enhancing health promotion among members of the public (including women).
There has been good representation of women in the local AIDS programme and amongst the stakeholders, ranging from ACA and its Community Forum on AIDS, to government services on AIDS and non-governmental AIDS organisations. The publicity and information materials produced, and services delivered to clients by DH have always been gender sensitive.

DH will continue to adopt the principles of gender mainstreaming and be gender sensitive in the prevention, control and care of HIV / AIDS.
Success Factor / Lessons Learned Evaluation exercise was conducted to examine groups key to HIV prevention and care, including women.
Views on the HIV prevention programmes were collected from stakeholders, including the Women's Commission and women's groups.
ACA Secretariat staff supporting the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the AIDS strategy are public health physicians and nurses who are sensitive to gender issues and have received regular gender-related training.