China’s Comprehensive AIDS Response (China CARES)

To explore effective HIV/AIDS prevention methods and expand coverage of HIV/AIDS prevention and control initiatives, the Chinese Central Government launched the China CARES program in 2003. China CARES was tasked with implementing national HIV/AIDS policy at the local community level but was given the freedom to work within a very flexible framework so that interventions and services could be tailored to meet the unique needs of the communities the China CARES sites served. Due to its success in bringing relevant prevention, testing, treatment, care, and support services to local communities, China CARES underwent three rounds of expansion, from 2003 to 2008, from 2009 to 2013, and then again from 2014 to 2018. Its impact has at the same time been measurable and immeasurable. Its success has been foundational to China’s HIV/AIDS response, and it has become a model for China and the world.