PTE China | Prevention Through Education

We are a 501 (c)3 nonprofit working in China to develop effective school based HIV/AIDS education programs.

Our programs target middle school students in their last years of compulsory education.

A population well educated about AIDS is an essential component in all efforts to slow the spread of HIV/AIDS and improve the lives of those already infected.

12.01.2008: World AIDS Day 2008: Stop AIDS, Keep the Promise
11.23.2008: PTE World AIDS Day Fundraiser in Beijing

10.31.2008: China Daily article notes importance of combatting discrimination in the fight against AIDS
10.31.2008: South African High Court Judge and renowned AIDS activist Justice Edwin Cameron visits China
10.24.2008: New UNAIDS survey shows critical importance of PTE’s work in awareness raising and stigma reduction

China’s HIV infections are increasing annually by 30% with over 80,000 new infections last year. China has a booming economy, an increasingly mobile population and 1.3 billion citizens who are dangerously uninformed about HIV/AIDS. Discrimination is rampant; knowledge is low and infrastructure to deal with the spread of the virus underdeveloped.

"HIV/AIDS awareness remains unacceptably low, and many people still do not know enough about how to protect themselves..."

- from the China CDC

The country is on the verge of a generalized epidemic yet an opportunity still remains to keep the virus from reaching the same levels of prevalence seen in Southeast Asia and Africa. Incorporating HIV/AIDS education into schools will help avert a generalized epidemic, decrease rates of infection and ensure those already infected live in a society that is understanding and tolerant towards them.

In the absence of a cure, education is the most effective tool in the prevention of the HIV virus. PTE brings HIV/AIDS education to China's youth. Our programs fight the spread of the virus by teaching students about transmission methods, educating them not to discriminate against HIV positive people, teaching them about the power of anti-retroviral medications (ARV) and making students aware of available resources for testing and treatment.

We enact positive change through the research, development and implementation of HIV/AIDS education programs for China’s youth. We train University students to teach HIV/AIDS education in migrant schools; design teacher training programs to incorporate HIV/AIDS education into standard school curriculum and create training workbooks for the teachers to use in their classrooms. In piloting our curriculum amongst 1,000 students, we found that those who received PTE designed HIV/AIDS education scored +31% higher on a basic survey of HIV/AIDS education given both before and after they received education (an equal sized control group showed no change).