Caring beyond borders

She has much experience in HIV/AIDS research and prevention, playing leading roles in helping others battle the disease in her home region of Xinjiang.

But none of these had fully prepared Canaria Gaffar for working among HIV-positive colleagues on a daily basis in the past six months.

"It was very challenging at first. The only contact I had when I first started was with my colleagues and I was living in a social vacuum," Gaffar, 28, told China Daily yesterday.