Aizhixing Institute of Health Education
Chinese HIV/AIDS organization
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Aizhixing Institute of Health Education is a non-profit organization based in Beijing, China, which focuses on education about and spreading awareness of HIV/AIDS, as well as HIV/AIDS research and programs serving HIV-positive individuals.
| Formation | 1994 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Hu Jia Wan Yanhai |
| Headquarters | Beijing, China |
| Website | http://www.aizhi.org |
The organization was founded in March 1994 by Wan Yanhai, and was originally called the AIZHI Action Project.[1] It adopted its current name in 2002.[2]
Services
At the time of its founding, AIZHI Action Project focused primarily on preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS, providing education on age and sex, fighting discrimination of HIV-positive individuals and advocating for the LGBT community in China.[1][3]
By 2003, services had expanded to include financial assistance and legal aid, and education programs were targeted towards specific demographics, including drug users, the LGBT community, migrant workers, sex workers, and students.[1]
History
AIZHI Action Project was initially based at Beijing University, but was shut down after authorities pressured the university.[4]
In 2000, the group published the work of Gao Yaojie, who was attempting to bring attention to the Bloodhead scandal in Henan.[5]
The organization was officially banned by the government on 1 July 2002.[3] Founder Wan Yanhai registered AIZHI with the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, allowing it to reopen as a business rather than a non-profit, for which registration was more difficult.[4][5]
In September 2003, the non-profit released a report describing how "the Chinese government...actively hindered progress towards halting the [AIDS] epidemic, denied people access to treatment and care, prevented the exchange of information on HIV/AIDS, and promoted unlawfulness and corruption in many parts of the country".[6]
In December 2004, Aizhixing and the Shanghai University School of Law co-organized a conference on AIDS, law and human rights, which was held in Shanghai.[7]
After a 2005 law was passed that limited NGO activities, the group renamed itself the Beijing Aizhixing Information Consulting Center.[8]
In 2006, Beijing Zhiaixing Information Counseling Center received combined grant of $179,113 from National Endowment for Democracy and US State Department for conducting programs within China.[9][10]
In December 2010, authorities opened an investigation into the organization, stated to be over tax regulations.[11]
On 11 March 2011, government authorities demanded the organization remove a letter from their website that implicated two government officials in "a blood transfusion scandal that led to an HIV/AIDS epidemic in Henan province in the 1990s". On 15 March, the organization's website was shut down by authorities.[11]
In 2012, the Guangzhou branch of the organization closed after staff reported police threatened them.[12]