Building Capacity For Scaling Up Hiv/Aids Programs

The rapid scale-up of HIV programs in China has caused a need to address deficiencies in the area of human resources-both more personnel and better-trained personnel were required. In particular, emphasis on human resource development was critical for the expansion of China's National Free Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) Program and China's National Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) Program. These two programs, both critical to the success of China's comprehensive HIV/AIDS response, grew from nothing to routinely treating hundreds of thousands of patients annually in just 10 years. Service quality was crucial to patient retention in care and achievement of positive clinical and community outcomes. Thus, clinical guidelines were created, training curriculum was developed, training centers were established, and evaluations of the effectiveness of training have been performed. However, there are still many challenges and much room for improvement. Capacity building within China's National Free ART Program and National MMT Program must continue to receive focus and funding and needs to improve and grow as these programs evolve over time.