THE city’s AIDS prevention network offering free HIV testing will be expanded to 100 housing communities in all six districts in the next two year, according to a plan drawn up by the city’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The first CDC-designated free testing clinic was established in 2004, and so far the city has a total of 17 clinics.

The campaign initially met some resistance from local residents, said Liao Bixia, the campaign’s supervisor at the CDC.

Liao said the clinics are usually located in community health centers, but in the beginning few people were willing to take an HIV test even though it is free and requires only a couple of minutes. Doctors had to persuade people to take the test by repeatedly guaranteeing their privacy will be protected.

Workers at the clinics assign each tester a number instead of using the person’s real name, and the result is available on the same day, according to Liao.

The CDC’s efforts have now paid off. More than 5,000 people have taken the free HIV tests so far. (Wei Jie)