Zhou Kai has worked in the UNAIDS China office for almost 13 years and has been involved in the AIDS response for more than 16 years. Before this, she was a university lecturer and researcher in paediatric and adolescent health for ten years.
Ms. Zhou’s experience demonstrates how China’s AIDS response has evolved over time. She first worked as a clinical researcher at the China Integrated Programme on AIDS before joining UNAIDS in 2006 to manage the coordination of the nine co-sponsor agencies that are behind UNAIDS in China.
“The AIDS response strategy in China was very weak at the time,” says Ms. Zhou.
Ms. Zhou began working on HIV prevention among key populations. As a doctor she provided strong technical support on HIV testing and prevention to national counterparts and strengthened community participation in prevention programmes.
In the following years, the AIDS response in China gradually improved. The Chinese government hoped to share its experience and began working on development projects, including in the health sector, to strengthen China-Africa collaboration.
One of the agendas for China-Africa cooperation is sharing best practice between China and African countries. In 2018, with the support of the UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Eastern and Southern Africa and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Ms. Zhou helped facilitate a visit for officials from Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania to Beijing and to Yuxi in Yunnan province in the south-west of the country.
During the visit, the delegates visited a rehabilitation clinic for people who use drugs and learned about the needle and syringe exchange programmes and opioid substitution therapy projects which have significantly reduced HIV infections among people who inject drugs.
Another of Ms. Zhou’s responsibilities is to advocate for the local production of medicines and health commodities in Africa. “I believe the local production of pharmaceuticals is essential if Africa wants to achieve further progress in the AIDS response and public health. It’s not purely a health issue, but closely linked with a country’s industrial development.” She started to work on the file in 2014 and transferred to her current position of policy and strategy adviser in 2018.
Through her efforts, several two-way visits have been arranged. These have resulted in the agreement of several partnerships between Chinese pharmaceutical companies and African counterparts.
On the country level, China-Africa cooperation has also been bolstered. The Roundtable of China-Africa Cooperation upgraded to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), elevating the academic dialogue to a multiple-themed forum at the country level.
As the Belt and Road Initiative attracts more countries, Ms. Zhou sees more opportunities for South-South cooperation. She also expects to expand public health cooperation to more Asian countries to share knowledge and experience between them.
UNAIDS has signed strategic partnership agreement with China that strengthens cooperation around the Belt and Road Initiative and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the scale up of the local production of medicines and health commodities.
“There is a huge potential for China to engage in South-South cooperation and make progress in the AIDS response and public health," said Ms. Zhou "The partnership will also benefit from the Belt and Road Initiative."
