157 million yuan spent to sponsor nongovernmental AIDS control projects

About 157 million yuan ($22.6 million) has been allocated to AIDS control projects by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the past three years, according to the China AIDS Fund for Non-Governmental Organizations (CAFNGO) Monday.

The money has gone to more than 1,700 projects operated by nearly 1,000 NGOs across China, said Wang Fan, an official with the CAFNGO management board, attached to the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association.

From 2016 to June 2018, about 820,000 people were persuaded by the NGO projects to take HIV tests, which led to the identification of about 23,000 new carriers, according to Wang.

The CAFNGO, initiated by the government in July 2015, receives 50 million yuan from the central budget annually and also takes in private donations.

Since the funds fail to meet the needs of NGOs, Wang said that the CAFNGO is trying to raise more funds from private sectors.