The event “Proactive Prevention for a Future Without AIDS” was held in Beijing on May 29. Hosted by Sina iAsk[1] and Weibo[2] in collaboration with Danlan and Blued, it brought together professionals from different fields to promote HIV pre-exposure prevention (PrEP) methods.
In particular, the campaign aimed to contribute to the “Healthy China 2030” strategy and the “2024–2030 National HIV/AIDS Prevention Plan” by exploring pathways to shift HIV control from passive response to proactive prevention, and from individual responsibility to social co-governance.
Mr. Liu Qichao, Deputy General Manager of Sina iAsk and organiser of the event stressed that as a popular online platform, iAsk should fully exert its social influence in spreading accurate knowledge on HIV to counter prejudice. In fact, despite PrEPs’ internationally recognised efficacy, it is not yet widely used in China due to factors such as insufficient risk awareness, misinformation, and social stigma.
In this regard, Professor Li Dongzeng, a physician affiliated with Capital Medical University, pointed out that active prevention should not be solely the individual responsibility of people at risk, but a collective effort involving medical professionals, social organisations, digital platforms and the whole society at large.
Blued, a popular social app for the gay community in China, has innovatively set up a “health zone” on its platform to promote HIV prevention knowledge among users. One user shared that after a friend of theirs got infected, they also decided to protect themselves in a more scientific way and began encouraging others to do the same, as “even a single test or consultation could change your health trajectory entirely.”
Ultimately, while people at risk of HIV should especially build this awareness by making active prevention part of their lifestyle, it is only through the collaboration of all sectors of society—including healthcare, industry, the public sector, and NGOs—within a comprehensive public health ecosystem that “A Future Without AIDS” can become a reality.
[1] Search engine of the Chinese tech company Sina Corporation.
[2] Popular platform similar to X, formerly known as Twitter, run by the same company.
