Merck Expands its HIV/AIDS Partnerships to China

Think of the global AIDS epidemic, and many people think first of Africa – particularly southern Africa, where in some countries more than a third of the adult population is infected with the HIV virus.  But Africa is not alone in its struggle against HIV/AIDS.  Particularly worrying to epidemiologists and other public health experts is the rapid rise in HIV infections in some of the world’s most populated countries, such as India, Russia and China.  The need for prevention and treatment efforts in these “second wave” countries and other parts of the world is critical.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), China faces one of the most rapidly expanding HIV epidemics in the world.  China reported its first case of HIV twenty years ago, in 1985.  Today, there are an officially estimated 840,000 people living with HIV in China, of whom approximately 80,000 have AIDS.  China now ranks second in Asia and fourteenth in the world in terms of the number of people living with HIV/AIDS.

“It is projected that without concerned prevention and treatment efforts, the number of people living with HIV/AIDS (PHA) in China will exceed 10 million by 2010…”

UNAIDS/WHO Epidemiological Fact Sheet – 2004 Update

Merck and China: Partners in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS

The core elements of the partnership will include:

1. Identifying high-risk populations that drive the epidemic, such as intravenous drug users and commercial sex workers
2. Conducting disease awareness and education programs
3. Expanding prevention efforts, such as condom distribution and harm reduction programs
4. Offering care and treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS
5. Enhancing health care worker training and patient management skills
6. Providing social and economic support, ranging from establishing community networks to providing job skills training

These program elements are aligned with the Chinese government‘s HIV/AIDS goals, and support the implementation of China’s HIV/AIDS policies and programs.  The Merck Company Foundation has committed U.S. $30 million to the partnership over the next five years, while the Government of China, through the leadership of the MOH, will provide resources such as staff, facilities and equipment.

The MOH and Merck will introduce the program in Liangshan Prefecture, Sichuan Province starting in the fall of 2005.

“The current situation we face in China to prevent HIV is severe,” said Wang Longde, Vice Minister of Health, in a press release announcing the partnership. “We are in urgent need of support from every aspect of society to fight this disease. This partnership with Merck is a valuable example of government and business cooperation. It will have a valuable impact on the comprehensive prevention and control of HIV/AIDS through mobilizing the contributions of society as a whole.”

 A Long-Term Commitment

The program will be implemented over five years.  If the program is successful, the partners hope to see:

• Slowed transmission of HIV/AIDS in the targeted high-risk populations
• Reduced morbidity and mortality of HIV/AIDS
• Improved quality of HIV/AIDS-related health care
• A positive impact on the social and economic aspects of people living with HIV/AIDS in the targeted communities

"We are dedicated to a long-term partnership with the Government of China and are committed to supporting efforts towards deterring the progress of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in China," said Judy C. Lewent, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Office and President Human Health Asia, Merck & Co., Inc. "Our hope is to be able to establish a model that can be adapted to other impacted regions of the country."

 A History of Making a Difference

Merck brings to its work in China extensive experience in the field of HIV/AIDS. In addition to our on-going efforts to research and develop new treatments and a possible vaccine for HIV/AIDS, Merck has collaborated with other governments and institutions to support the development of comprehensive HIV/AIDS initiatives:

• Merck initiated a partnership five years ago with the Government of Botswana and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation known as the African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships, or ACHAP. The Botswana/Gates/Merck partnership works in full integration with government strategy to build institutional and management capacity, strengthen Botswana’s health care system, promote behavior change and support grassroots efforts to tackle HIV/AIDS.
  
  
• Merck has worked with the Government of Romania since 1997 to increase access to treatment and care for thousands of Romanian children and adults living with HIV/AIDS, contributing $1.5 million toward projects to improve HIV/AIDS infrastructure. We also extended no-profit pricing to the Romanian government on our HIV medications in recognition of the government’s commitment to fighting the disease.
  
  
• From 1998 until the program’s formal conclusion in 2004, The Merck Company Foundation funded the Enhancing Care Initiative (ECI), a program of the Harvard AIDS Institute and the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center at the Harvard School of Public Health. A multisectoral, multinational collaboration, ECI sought to identify practical, country-led approaches to providing effective HIV/AIDS care tailored to local needs and resources.  Teams were established in Brazil, Senegal, South Africa and Thailand. A grant from the United States Health Resources and Services Administration supported a fifth team in Puerto Rico.
  
  
• Merck currently is applying the lessons learned in Botswana to projects elsewhere - including Estonia, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Malawi  - to help governments, aid organizations and others address HIV/AIDS in those countries.
  

For more information on these and other HIV/AIDS initiatives, visit Merck.com/cr/enabling_access/developing_world/hiv/home.html.

To view the MOH/Merck joint press release on the China partnership, click here.

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