Gay social networking app helps raise HIV/AIDS awareness in China

It has been more than four years since Dong Wenji, known as Xiao Ji to his close friends, accidentally found out about his condition. He was having a checkup for an abdominal problem when blood tests revealed he had HIV.

“I didn’t know much about the disease at the time. I thought it was impossible for me to contract it,” Xiao Ji told CGTN. “So when the doctor told me about my condition, I felt devastated. My head went blank, and I thought about suicide.”

Had he not been in the hospital for another reason, Xiao Ji said he would not have known his HIV status. Getting tested and having to open up about his sexuality to another person was out of the question for him then.

In a country where being LGBT is still taboo, many gay men and other men who have sex with men, or MSM, find it difficult to access services like HIV testing. Accurate information on HIV/AIDS can also be hard to come by.

It’s a problem the social networking platform Blued has sought to tackle for years. Through its widely popular app, which currently has more than 27 million users, Blued encourages testing and provides information on HIV/AIDS prevention.

In partnership with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), Blued offers free HIV testing in its Beijing office and other locations in China. It has 15 centers across the country targeting the MSM sector.

Dong Wenji, who was diagnosed with HIV in 2013, runs his own HIV support group and counseling service.

“In recent years, from 2005, the HIV epidemic in this population increased quite rapidly,” said Dr. Mi Guodong, Blued’s chief medical officer. “Most of them want to try to be hidden and the population don’t want to come out to get services. Through this smartphone-based app, we can approach the people who hide themselves.”

Mi said the number of people getting tested at Blued has surged over the years. In 2016, he said the company tested some 6,000 people, a huge increase from the 800 or so four years earlier.

People who want to get tested can book an appointment using the Blued app or just walk in. Those who test positive are referred to health centers and hospitals for further advice and treatment.

“People who are newly diagnosed are in some kind of a trance, incapable of thinking clearly,” said Ma Yue, operations specialist and counselor at Blued. “They need help to adapt to the new situation quickly. After that, we talk to them and tell them that it’s no different from other diseases, and that they can still live a long life.”

Among more than 800,000 people living with HIV in 2016 in China, about eight percent are the MSM, according to the National HIV Sentinel Surveillance. As in other parts of the world, MSM in China are among the most vulnerable to HIV infection.

While the HIV epidemic in China has stabilized in recent years, new infections among the youth and MSM are increasing, Dr. Wu Zunyou of the China CDC said.

The gay social networking platform Blued has 15 HIV testing centers in China.

“Stigma is still a significant barrier to accessing services, particularly among men who have sex with men,” said Wu, the agency’s chief epidemiologist. “We need to have a vigorous plan to encourage people to get tested. Blued could play a significant role in the promotion of this message.”

In 2016, the Chinese government spent an equivalent of 694 million US dollars on HIV/AIDS control and treatment. Wu said among the China CDC’s current priorities is promoting self-testing kits to allow people to check their status in private.

Efforts to raise HIV awareness, however, are not limited to the government and big companies like Blued. A year after he was diagnosed, Xiao Ji started an HIV support group and counseling service.

“I wanted to help the gay community learn about safe sexual conduct and understand what HIV really is,” he said.

The youngest person with HIV to have sought his help was 17 years old. “He was just as confused as I was, with no hope for the future, not knowing how to deal with friends, family, and life,” he said.

Xiao Ji said living with HIV in China is a constant struggle because of the stigma attached to it. But by coming out and lending a helping hand, he hopes to inspire others with the same condition to live free from fear and shame.

(CGTN)