Wang Yunsheng, an official at the Yunnan Province AIDS office in Kunming, traveled with us to Ruili on the border of Myanmar. Wang watches the time, and he constantly kept hustling us along to stay on schedule. So when it came to Yunnan's plans to launch 3-year pilot programs for needle exchange and methadone substitution--both of which studies have shown work--I repeatedly pointed to my watch, and said HIV waits for no one. "We have to do projects according to the reality here," said Wang. The central government, not the province, controls methadone distribution. And needle exchange takes time to properly introduce to a community. "We have this worry if they're going to use our needles and have a drug overdose or become seriously ill, the family members will sue us for providing the needles," Wang said. "We're trying to do things systematically. We welcome you to come a year later and you will see a fundamental change." |
