The Hong Kong AIDS Foundation has applauded the TestBKK event in Bangkok this October, saying HIV testing is recognised as key to preventing the virus from spreading.
"Bangkok's first mass HIV testing event was an important one, taking into account the fact that 46 per cent of the men who have sex with men [MSM] who attended the Silom Community Clinic had never been tested," says Maple Lau, deputy director (programmes) of the foundation.
"The campaign would have also helped raise awareness of HIV/Aids among the target community, and encouraged those people to go for regular testing."
In Hong Kong, the number of new recorded cases is set to hit a record high for the fourth year running and may pass 600 for the first time, according to a government consultant.
Some 304 new cases were diagnosed in the first half of the year, Dr Wong Ka- hing says, compared with 262 new cases reported in the same period of last year. There were 559 new HIV cases in the whole of last year. In the light of these alarming statistics, the foundation says that government and non-government organisations in the city have been injecting resources into preventive education and promotion of HIV testing for gay men.
In recent years the foundation has implemented a range of activities on HIV/Aids prevention for the MSM community, such as outreach education services, promotion of safe sex including the distribution of condoms and lubricants at hangouts and at popular events frequented by gay men.