This year the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) organized the WE-CHECK for our Brave Companions campaign that ran from August 1 to October 31, 2013. The three-month campaign achieved remarkable gains in the number of anonymous HIV screenings during that time, testing a total of 36,280 people for HIV, twice the number of people who participated in the campaign the previous year. In 2013, 364 people were tested positive, excluding 30 returning cases, meaning that 0.92% of those newly tested were HIV positive. Consequently, 214 people who were tested positive for HIV have accepted referrals for medical treatment.    

In 2013, the WE-CHECK campaign established 173 WE-CHECK recruitment centers and 424 WE-CHECK consulting and inspection centers. Overall, the campaign recruited 173 WE-LEADERS to promote HIV testing. On January 31, Taiwan CDC held a press conference to share the results of the WE-CHECK for our Brave Companions campaign and Taiwan CDC Director-General Feng-Yee Chang personally awarded organizations and individual WE- LEADERS for their distinguished contributions to the WE-CHECK campaign. Among them were ten non-governmental organizations, eleven health agencies, and ten WE- LEADERS.

The Love Hope Association was awarded the most distinguished prize for their work in promoting HIV testing. Program Manager Meng-Zi Wu said that the association has conducted private, comprehensive HIV screenings for years. In fact, the Love Hope Association has garnered a considerable amount of public trust through their work and many people get tested regularly through the Association and its services. During the We-Check campaign, the Association actively encouraged their friends and loved ones to get tested through their services, successfully broadening their reach into the community. The results were significant and revealed an urgent message as 4.44% of those tested were positive for HIV.

According to Taiwan CDC, one third of those who delayed testing after being notified to get tested for HIV between 2009 and 2012, exhibited HIV symptoms within a year of being identified as a candidate for HIV testing. Delaying HIV diagnoses not only increases the risk of further HIV transmission, but also increases the patient mortality rate and consequent medical expenses for AIDS treatment. Domestic and international research concur that early diagnoses can reduce risky sexual behavior by 68%. Furthermore, beginning immediate antiretroviral therapy can reduce the patient morbidity and mortality rates. Regular testing, early detection and treatment are important, and remain the best way an individual can protect himself or herself as well as their sexual partners from HIV.  

Taiwan CDC stressed that once someone has had unprotected sex, there is a chance that he or she is already infected with the AIDS virus. Some of the more practical methods to protect against HIV are to use condoms and water-based lubricants during sex, avoid attending out-of-control house parties or sex parties, and avoid engaging with multiple sex partners as well as other sexually risky behavior. Taiwan CDC also warns against having sex with someone whose sexually history you do not know, or with someone who refuses to wear a condom. For more AIDS-related questions, please visit the Taiwan CDC’s website at http://www.cdc.gov.tw or call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Care Hotline, 1922 or 0800-024582 if calling from a cell phone.